Through the Dark
by Akuneisa
Summary: [Elricest, AU, Vampirism.] Alphonse is a teenager with way too much to handle. When he comes face to face with death, he is lead into an even deadlier situation by a Vampire named Edward who doesn't remember who he once was.
1. Proposition

**Author's Notes: **_So, after working on this for almost a year, I finally went through and corrected minor issues that I've had with it. By the way, my friend and I never DID get around to doing this roleplay; we had started it, but never finished. Oh well. It became my most successful story on fanfiction. I thank you all for that._

**Warnings: **_Elricest. Angst. Blood. __**AU**_

**Final Note: **

_This story has been plaguing my every thought and action for almost a year now. I urge you to __**READ IT **__and most definitely __**REVIEW IT **__because I put so much time and effort into producing a story to the best of my ability, and I would hate for it to fall on deaf ears. Meaning, I would hate for it if you read it and didn't say anything._

_Anyway, without further ado, I'm very, very pleased to present to you, my favorite work that I have ever put so much time into, and probably the best Vampire story you'll ever read. . . _

_Here is;_

_**Through The Dark.**_

* * *

_Flashback._

He lay, sprawled across the rug, only a pale blue nightshirt and pants covering him. A toy or two sat next to him, as if guarding their owner. Every now and then he'd hear a large crash from the back room, and more of his father's loud, strong voice yelling. Then there was the occasional, drowned out sound of a smaller voice, but equal in anger, to be sure. Edward could be heard pounding on walls, screaming at the older man with as much force as a 7 year old could muster.

Alphonse, on the other hand, was simply reduced to lying on the floor, tears dried and staining his cheeks. Every time a large thump resounded in his ears, he would wince helplessly, and continue looking about the living room for an outlet to take his mind off of what was happening in the den. He wished with all his heart he could wake their mother up-- to have her stop the abuse. But Al would only get it twice as bad if he were to do something so blatantly stupid. So he was forced to endure the mental images that arose every time he would hear Ed scream in pain.

Before long, Trisha Elric _did _wake up, her sleeping pills loosing their kick. Her long brown hair was tangled, and she looked drugged in her dark green night robe, wrapped carelessly around her thin frame. Only that robe covered a silk nightdress that came precariously high on the woman's thighs, refusing to hide any amount of skin. Al didn't look. Instead, he clenched his eyes shut, and forced himself to keep focused on something more mentally secure.

His mother stopped short of making her way through the kitchen, and gazed at her youngest son with a mundane look, her dark brown eyes just lingering around the small room. She nodded in his direction as though assuring herself that he was to stay there while she went and settled the little predicament that was occurring down the hall.

After a moment, Alphonse could hear his mother's voice; soft, feminine, but venomous and riddled with contempt. She spoke to Hohenheim with a bitter sound airing her words, and not a shred of love in them. There was the hint of padding feet across the vinyl flooring in the kitchen, and then it stopped when those feet met carpet. Al sat up quickly from his resting position on the carpet, and looked at the new arrival.

Edward stood there, bottom lip bleeding disconsolately and dripping to stain the sea foam colored rug beneath them. There wasn't anything to say, because the elder of them knew that the other boy was quite aware of what had happened back there. A small cut lined near one of Ed's sharp golden eyes, and the mere sight of it made Alphonse recoil when Ed attempted to approach him.

They ignored the screaming from the den, and just stared at one another. Trisha's voice was strong when angered, and she ruled over most of the house; there was no way Hohenheim would get out of this one… as stupid as this all was.

"Brother..." Al spoke lightly, un-able to find something else worthy to say. He simply watched as his sibling fell to his knees in front of him.

Shaking hands crept near him, Ed moving slowly and then gripping his fists into his baby brother's shirt, pulling him in for a hug. Unbeknownst to them, it would be the last time in a very long while that they would be able to share such a close proximity. Alphonse pressed his warm face against Edward's chest, and took a deep breath, wishing there was something he could do to possibly alleviate the pain that said boy was feeling. His lip looked horrible...

"Al, Dad wasn't--"

The words were cut quickly by the collapsing of three chairs in the kitchen by what sounded like something crashing into them. Breaking the contact that the brothers had, Edward jumped up, one hand still clenching into the garment Al was wearing. He didn't let go until his eyes became wide with shock, and he looked with horrification, as the image of his mother's body strewn across the crumbled chairs was permanently imprinted in his mind. She stirred a bit, a few drops of blood slipping down her forehead. Ed moved a bit more to the side to get a more clear view of what, exactly, was happening.

He then saw his father emerge from his whereabouts in the den, into the kitchen, his own dark gold eyes shining maliciously. "Get up..." he said, quietly. Then, when she made no effort to obey his command, "Get up!" And the strength of that demand was enough to make the woman struggle to her feet. The green robe was half coming off her shoulders, and the smear of old lipstick from where he had punched her stained her cheek.

By then, Al had gotten up, too, but only got so far when Ed pushed him back to where he had been, perhaps in hopes of keeping his younger brother from seeing their parents in such a state. But for some reason, the boy couldn't pull _himself_ away. He watched as his mother, just getting to her feet, made another lunge at their dad, only to be knocked back against the table, back cracking as she collided with it.

There was more yelling, and more. At one point, both boys heard Trisha scream, "Get out! GET OUT!" Tears and blood streamed down her face, and she wanted him gone.

"I'm taking him," Hohenheim said simply, almost daring her to try to stop him. With those words though, he looked just barely to the side, his eyes catching on Edward and locking him in, promising a life of hell before the inevitable end.

"Like Hell!" Stumbling awkwardly, their parents ran at the boy all at once, Al just staring in disbelief. What could he do? He was only six...

The man grabbed blindly at the soft tuft of gold on Ed's head, and began dragging him toward the front door, while Trisha attempted to haul him back with her arms locked in his. "Let me go! Stop it Dad! Dammit, Let me go! LET GO OF ME!" The boy cried as firmly as he could, and kicked and punched with about the strength of a kitten. He was no match for both his parents, as that was quickly discovered.

Alphonse left behind rationality and lurched forward towards the three, in hopes to do some kind of good. He wrenched his arms around his big brother's waist and pulled the same direction Trisha was. His nose was buried into Ed's stomach, and he tried his best to make some type of leeway, or at least distract his father with his presence. Neither was working.

"For God's sake, Edward, why would you want to live here with this woman?!" Hohenheim yelled, outraged at having all of them against his wishes. "She doesn't even take care of you anymore!! She's to busy getting drugged in her bedroom," he shot a glare at the woman across from him, his amber gold eyes deviously working into her's.

All the while Ed was crying and screaming, and trying with all his might to get out of the couple's grasp. He was wishing his little brother would release him, giving him a bit more leverage-- Lord knows it would help, but there was so much straining in between the four of them that no one had space for leverage, let alone Edward.

Finally, Hohenheim raised a booted foot and kicked hard at Trisha's stomach, still not healed from her six year old c-section. She relinquished her eldest son, doubling over, her forehead pressed against the carpet. "Mom!" Alphonse cried, still holding tightly to Ed's waist. The woman didn't say anything- didn't even move, just stayed that way. Everything was still for a moment, until the man grunted and hoisted Ed up quickly, but bringing Al with him. "Brother, no! You can't take him!! YOU CAN'T!" Tears formed in the corners of Al's clenched bronze eyes, and he kicked his feet to remain on the ground, but after a moment he felt a calloused hand on his wrist prying him off his big brother, and their father dropped the youngest boy onto the floor with a loud thump.

"ALPHONSE!" Bright golden eyes shone with tightly held back tears, and a terrible look of mortification spread over the rest of Edward's features.

It was the last expression Al would ever see on his brother's face, for a very, very long time... for after that last look, the only thing that remained in the auburn haired boy's head was the finality and solemn truth that lay in the slam of the front door.

_End Flashback._

* * *

_Eleven Years Later..._

"Isaac, you can't do that, we'll get in trouble!" a soft voice whispered urgently, hoping it sounded stronger than he felt.

The boy by the name of Isaac simply turned to his friend and smiled wryly and encouragingly at him. His devilish blue eyes were sparkling with curiosity and wonder and it seemed as though nothing in the world could get his spirits down. "Come on, Al... We're almost there! No one's going to catch us. Besides, it's old Roy Mustang's place."

And at that Al would've loved to point out how Mustang wasn't by any means "old" but actually a well-bodied man of 32. But he kept his mouth shut and bit down on his bottom lip.

He had hated this whole idea of "wrapping Roy's house in toilet paper" thing. It was completely, utterly insane and juvenile. Though, Isaac was a born leader and wouldn't take no for an answer... especially from his younger best friend. "Now let's do this," he said, narrowing his eyes and handing Alphonse a roll of TP.

"Er... sure," the boy nodded unsurely, and took the roll, standing up behind the bush with the other male. "I guess now's better than ever..." as confident as he sounded he was positively horrified. Roy Mustang was the biggest asshole in the town, and not to mention employed pretty much everyone's parents. Although, that wasn't something Al had to worry about; Trisha, his mother, didn't even work. She was too busy playing _puff, puff pass _or _shooting up _in the bathroom or _snorting_ on her bed. Almost every time he would come home she would be completely high, stoned, or fried, too out of it to cook dinner.

In fact, Al probably wouldn't even have been in this situation if it hadn't been his night off. _Because_ Trisha didn't work, he was in charge of providing food, and other basic necessities for their life. He paid the bills and kept food on the table for them. He worked almost every night after school until 11 o'clock. But even so... he was so grateful for having a roof over his head and nourishment in his stomach.

Nearly silently they slipped through the grass into the back yard of the man's house. It held a little swing set for Roy's children, who were, of course, spoiled rotten. There was also a good-sized pool and Jacuzzi there as well for the elder of his kids who just so happened was going to Isaac and Al's school. They were snobby rich brats... that's what they were.

"All right, when I say 'three', we throw the rolls up, okay?" Isaac whispered, about a yard away from the other. "One...two..." pause, and intent blue orbs squeezed shut as he whisper-yelled, "Three!"

Both things of toilet paper sailed into the night sky and landed happily on the roof, trailing their contents across its mossy paneling. They swooped over the top gutter and down to the overhang of the roof, just skidding along leaving behind their remnants. The black haired boy smiled triumphantly while Alphonse stood, his hands covering his mouth at the site before him. He couldn't believe he had just committed such a heinous crime. Because technically, this _was_ illegal.

After the remainder of the rolls fell, Isaac pulled Al along to pick them up, and continue the process. When the first two rolls were dead and gone, they pulled out more and more and more, until the entire roof was dreadfully covered in nothing but toilet paper. Even the paneling couldn't be seen any longer. It was horribly hilarious but all too wrong.

Afraid of disappointing his best friend, Alphonse allowed himself to continue doing what the male had told him to do. Picking up, throwing, watching, picking up, throwing, watching...

Finally there wasn't anything left to throw, and the bronze eyed boy breathed a sigh of relief. He was so happy to at last be done with this ridiculous thing. "Okay... let's get out of here," he murmured unrelentingly.

With a long moment of silence between them and nothing but the sound of distant cars and crickets, Isaac replied with a nod and grabbed the other's arm. "C'mon," he said quietly. And then with a slight chuckle, "I can't wait to see what the papers say about this one. Lord knows Mustang will tell every living soul he knows what happened. He'll probably even hire investigators to--"

Suddenly, a loud thud and the crash of garbage cans caught his ears and abruptly he stopped in mid sentence, also realizing that his hand wasn't holding Al anymore. Through the dark he could see his friend flat on his face with a plastic garbage can atop his back. Thankfully, there wasn't any garbage in the can. "...Al!" Isaac whispered, eyes wide.

Unfortunately, the crash of those cans had been loud enough to wake the dead, let alone the entire Mustang household. It wasn't long before the porch light came on and Roy himself came out the back door in a long night robe and boxers. His hair was mussed from sleep and he definitely wasn't completely aware of the situation.

Then, _fortunately, _the two boys thanked God that they were out of the light of the porch's illumination, because they would've been deader than a doornail. Quickly and without wasting anytime, Isaac lunged at his friend and pulled him up as swiftly as possible and ran out the side of the house and into the front lawn. Thank goodness the sound had come from the back of the house rather than the front, because no one was on the deck to spot them.

After a few seconds, though, they could clearly hear the distinct yell of the man's voice: "What the FUCK happened here!?"

And undoubtedly he himself had succeeded in waking perhaps the entire neighborhood.

All that the two of them could do at that point was run as fast as possible back to their section of town, laughing the entire way.

* * *

It was all too much a relief when Alphonse finally returned to his home, Isaac by his side. Since Al was the younger of the two of them, Isaac felt a responsibility to walk his friend home before allegedly going to his own.

They arrived on the front steps to the small house at about midnight or so... and the black haired male grinned wildly. "We had fun tonight didn't we?" He asked in a reminiscing sort of way.

Al gave an over-exaggerated smile and batted his eyelashes patronizingly. "Oh yes, sweetie. It was perhaps the _best_ date I've ever been on!" And he threw his arms around Isaac, laughing hysterically. "Thanks for bringing me with you... I don't think I've ever been so afraid in my entire life." This time there was no joking in his voice, only pure seriousness.

"Man, you know I'd never leave you for dead. I love ya... don't forget that, okay?" Isaac pulled away a little but kept his hands on the shorter boy's shoulders. "Just... trust me. I wanted to do something fun for us since you're always working and the only time we see each other is in school. You don't need to be going through this shit with your mom by yourself, right? It... isn't fair..."

It only took those last words and Isaac was leaning in again, this time a little differently. His lips gently caught Al's in a chaste kiss that could've signified friendship or love... Alphonse wasn't too sure, but still... It was amazing to be kissed like that. Even if it was by another guy.

To the outside world it would've looked like a boy kissing his girlfriend goodbye; Al's hair was long... I mean _really_ long. Half the time his auburn blonde tresses would be pulled back into a tight ponytail though and was hardly ever let down. He figured he needed money for paying bills and furnishing food for his mother and for himself... there was never extra money for a hair cut, and after a while he had gotten so fond of it he decided he would rather keep it then cut it off anyway. He was partial to long hair.

At length, Isaac relinquished the other boy's mouth and looked at him through half lidded crystal blue eyes. "I... I'm not sure if you really wanted that or not but... I thought it would be a good time to explain to you that... I... well, _you_ know." With a little laugh he kind of moved a bit back, unsure of how Al was going to react. That's how unpredictable the young boy was.

"No, no. It's fine, I just... was a bit surprised. I've never really been kissed by a guy --or anyone, for that matter-- before." A gentle rose color began to pass over Alphonse's cheeks and he scratched his head a little in embarrassment. "I'm a little sleepy... we'll talk tomorrow, okay?"

Isaac nodded and smiled, recognizing that at the very least his best friend was considering a relationship. "All right... tomorrow then. See ya later," he replied and seemed like he was about to say something else, but at a loss for words, waved and turned down the driveway and on the street heading to his own home.

Al stood there for a moment, then backed against the front door, sighing. He couldn't help but wonder how long Isaac had been holding that kiss in. How long had he liked him? It was strange. In all truth, Al had never had feelings for anyone before... he was sort of in a way... 'Asexual'... if you believe in labels. In any case, he had never felt anything toward the blue-eyed boy except strong friendship. That was all... But with this sudden onslaught of affection... it seemed just so weird.

Definitely something to sleep on, he told himself. And with that thought, Alphonse turned around and unlocked his front door, and entered into his little house.

It smelled like death and something rotting. He cringed a bit and tried to ignore the urge to gag. All the lights were off save the little stove light in the kitchen. His feet passed over the sea foam colored rug and down the hall heading for his bedroom. Though he stopped short, and peered into his mother's open room. The door was ajar and she could be seen lying on her bed in her blue nightdress. It was hard to tell exactly what she liked to get high in. Al could see white powder spilled on to her coal colored carpet and a few straws on the desk near her bed. There was also a needle or two here and there, but nothing he wasn't used to seeing.

The boy figured that Trisha had most likely already eaten or was just too high to care... so he told himself that it would be all right to go to bed. It had been hours since he himself had eaten... but it didn't much matter. He was still a little shaken... and not just from almost being caught by Roy Mustang.

It wasn't long before Alphonse was dressed down in only his boxers and a navy colored shirt and was sacked out on top of the covers. He didn't even have enough energy to settle down below them... just collapsed from exhaustion the moment the opportunity arose.

* * *

Time slipped by...

First just a few moments... then an hour... then two hours.

The entire house remained lifeless and dormant. The floor would creak occasionally as a reminder that just because something seems dead doesn't necessarily mean there isn't any roaming spirits or such trailing about. There was always some sort of ghastly shade of character floating around during the witching hour... or even just all night. It was about two-thirty by this time, and peculiarly silent.

Sharp nails dug into the paneling of the front door, and intense golden eyes scanned the living room for any movement. There was nothing though... not even a breath to go by.

_I should have known a place this desolate wouldn't have anyone occupying it. I was foolish to think otherwise. _

How strange it was that this house had been calling out to him, begging him to enter. He wasn't even sure what it was, but strangely enough there was an odd aura about this little building that had been strong enough to persuade him to enter. Screw the whole logic about how "certain creatures" can't enter homes without being invited... he would do whatever the hell he pleased.

_Yet... why do I feel attracted to something in these walls? What's so special about this place?_

The male silently, _incredibly_ silently walked past a torn up couch and such before his shoed feet hit vinyl. How very peculiar... he couldn't help but wonder if there really was someone here. The house was nearly empty. He looked about the kitchen; spotless, like not a living soul had ever set foot in it. Or... maybe just overly clean?

He turned then and walked through the hall, smirking mischievously as his fingers ghosted along the wall. His steps couldn't be heard... he was an unannounced presence, but did that mean he was an unwanted one at that?

Then without actual recognition, his eyes caught sight of a long, slender body... sprawled across an unmade bed. Her tumbling brown hair cascaded down to her shoulders, and Trisha looked beautiful with the moonlight hitting her pale skin. The man's hands trembled and he was overcome by that sickly desire... that the sight of her neck beneath her locks of brunette only egged on that feeling.

* * *

A strangled cry awoke the seventeen-year-old boy, and he had cold sweat pouring over his flesh. There was a deafening silence ringing in his ears, and his vision was blurry. But distantly he could feel breath on his face like someone hovering just over him. Perhaps his mother had woken up? It must've startled her when he cried out like that...

That thought quickly dissipated as Al's eyes became clear and he came face to face with an unfamiliar person.

Golden hair hung over the person's features, making it increasingly difficult to decipher whether this body was a man or a woman. And then it raised its head, and light from beyond the window hit it's face. A mess of gold was what most of his head was made of... gold eyes, gold hair... beautiful.

And as Alphonse lay there, petrified, he had to think that he had never seen anyone-- or any_thing _so downright gorgeous. But realization hit, and in its wake left the boy even more horrified than before as he noticed with distinguished mortification that there was blood smeared all across the other boy's lips and down his jaw and even across his cheek. What was more, that boy was leaning precariously close as though his first meal hadn't been enough.

Bronze eyes went positively wide at this sight; a macabre vision of loveliness and sinister intent and sensuality all at once. It was completely frightening, but he knew he didn't have enough breath to even say one word, let alone scream. Al was sure that he looked like a child, cowering before the hand that would spank him... the way his orbs must've been dilating with fear but at the same time curiosity. And all he could tell himself was, _This is a dream, this is a dream... no one's here... I'm still asleep._

Of course, this wasn't in the least bit true, and the face was leaning in closer, it's long hands moving up Alphonse's chest as though coaxing him to believe that this was all right. "This will only hurt for a moment... it'll be over soon." And really, Al wasn't sure whether the other male meant the pain would be over soon, or his life would. He truly hoped it was the first one. The last thing he saw were magnificent fangs being drawn out of those thin lips and dipping to meet his neck.

Al squeezed his eyes shut tight and pushed with as much force as possible against the man's chest to knock him back, but all it managed to do was push his shoulders away a bit so that they were back to looking at each other. "St-stay away... Don't touch me!!" it was the only thing he could think to say at that moment as he kept pounding his fists against the golden haired one's torso.

The other looked completely unscathed as he kept gazing down with interested sun hued eyes at the boy. It fascinated him how very interesting the warm color of his skin was, and how he had such pouty lips, remarkable colors in his hair. There was something about him that truly made his urge to kill soften. What a waste it would be... to kill such a... dare he say it? ...Cute human.

At the very least, he thought he should do something with him. After witnessing the sight of blood and fangs he was sure that the male could put two and two together and realize that this had _something _to do with Vampires. So he settled on the conclusion that he might as well bring this younger man with him. A last-ditch idea, and something he wasn't very fond of, but he could always use a good look out for when he was off guard.

"My name is Edward," he finally whispered, his face even closer to Al's. "Try not to forget it."

Alphonse stopped resisting at the words that in a sense signified a peace treaty. He had a strange feeling he didn't have to fight back right then... And that name... _Edward_... There was familiarity in it and something else but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "I-I-I'm... Alphonse... Alphonse Elric," he gulped, and offered a shy and shaky smile, one to which the vampire simply smirked off. "I-I'm guessing you're dead. Like... a vampire thing." Al didn't want to believe his own words but it was the only logical explanation for the fangs and the blood.

"Gee, and here I thought you were stupid!" Edward said sarcastically. "Yes, I'm one of the 'undead' if you want to use technical literary terms. Where I come from we just prefer to use, Vampire. Or... "Creature of the Night," if you like that sort of thing. Either way, I'd prefer it if you called me by my name rather than what I am." Ed's voice was strange... it was like ice; cold and distant, and barely human. He could've spoken in monotone and Al wouldn't have known the difference.

"Did... did you kill my mother?" Alphonse asked helplessly, closing his eyes for fear of the answer.

"Yes."

If there had been any way to stop the tears, it probably wouldn't have helped very much. At that point Al had sat up abruptly and hugged his knees to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably into them (Mostly out of fear that if he were crying while laying down, it would show more weakness, and more vulnerability). What was he supposed to do now? He would be the first suspect of murder if anyone were to find out, and if he tried to even hint at Vampire occurrences... who the hell would believe him? He wasn't even sure if Isaac would believe him. Oh God... what kind of nightmare had the past two hours turned into? He couldn't help but think if he just slept a little lighter he might have been able to save his mother... while instead Edward had been draining her of her life's substance.

He wanted to hate the man before he even knew him, but he just couldn't. There wasn't much Alphonse lost as a mother... he had never really had a mother anyway. He had been so independent since a young age that she seemed more like a roommate. He didn't know his father, but Trisha had told him that his father had left when Al was a small boy. He was told he never had siblings or anything... he was an only child with a sperm donor father.

He didn't remember a thing about his childhood before his ninth birthday... everything prior seemed to have vanished... erased from his memory. Al was an orphan... alone in the world. Would this vampire just leave him here to his own suffering, or... would he perhaps just make it a bit easier and kill him the same way he did his mother?

Alphonse looked up from his knees a little, his bronze eyes drenched in salty tears. He glared hard at the male next to him, wishing that looks could kill. (If they could, Ed would've been dead 12 times over.)

Edward sat there poised into perfect posture. His golden hair was tied back in a similar ponytail to Al's, his bangs hanging around the sides of his face. Had his features not been so mature, his bangs would've made him look like a little child... but Al knew better. "This is your fault," he whispered, menacingly calm and quiet. Oh how he wished he could come up with something clever to do the vampire away with... to prove he wasn't stupid. "Leave... please just leave..." the mere thought of what his mother's corpse-- bloodied and massacred-- would look like, made him shake and tears reform in his eyes, no matter how hard he had been trying to stay angry. The sadness was more powerful and overcame him quickly. It didn't matter to him that she was constantly on something... she was his mother; she had given him life and birthed him.

When Al had looked once more at Ed he immediately forgot about crying when he realized the other was closing in on him once more, his arms open and ready to catch a dead body. He clenched his eyes tight again and braced himself for pain... it truly didn't matter now._ I only wish I could've told Isaac goodbye... _

But right when the expected pain was supposed to hit, there wasn't a flinch at all. Edward simply sat with his arms around the shorter boy's shoulders, attempting to comfort him as best he could. "I never knew my mom... at least, I don't remember her. To tell you the truth, after I became this way, I kind of forgot about everything that had ever happened before. My father is the only member of my family that I know... so please, don't cry. I understand what it is you're feeling and I--"

"How dare you say you know how I feel? You're a fucking vampire for Christ's sake! You don't know real love or have any emotions whatsoever... you're just a cold-hearted bastard whose only desire is to feed off of helpless (High) women! Get out of my house! Just let me sit here and rot to death!" It all came out so loud and emotional and painfully that before Al could get a hold of himself hot sticky tears were streaming down his face and dripping on his neck and shirt. By that time, Ed had pulled away and was just gazing at him with sad eyes and a smile full of pity.

"Maybe so, but that's a little selfish to be saying that we don't have our own sort of love for certain things. I haven't been a Vampire long, but I believe I know more about them than anyone. We _do_ have feelings and emotions... and we _can_ feel remorse just the same as you pitiful creatures. We just have a more grotesque way of translating those feelings," Edward went on and on, insisting that he had the same inner parts a human did, when it came to how one perceives things. Or in other words; emotions, for lack of a better term.

It was hard for Alphonse to listen to the man who had so carelessly done away with his mother, hard for him to look into those gold eyes without feeling a strange tingling sensation in his stomach and realizing that he was, in a way, drawn to him. It wasn't just the vampire's amazing good looks, though that didn't hurt, it was his entire being. There was something so distantly familiar that kept on nagging him to just look a bit closer. He found himself staring after a moment, still attempting to figure out where on earth he had seen this person before. _Couldn't have been anytime during the day... _But God, what was it? What was it calling out to him?

To rid them of the awkward silence that had followed, Al thought up something to ask that just so happened to be reasonable. He needed to know anyway... "What do you plan on doing to me? Er... what I mean is: are your plans to kill me as well?" In all honesty, he wasn't entirely sure he desired to know the answer, but either way he was bound to find out.

Edward smirked and narrowed his lovely eyes. He didn't know how to answer that... at first, that _had _been his intention, but there was something about the composition of Al's DNA... his aura. It was a complicated thing to explain, but to put it simply; something in Al's eyes had stopped the vampire from taking what he had pre-claimed. "You... can come with me. You don't exactly have a choice, now do you? You know what the circumstances are; it would look like you killed your mother. And no autopsy specialist would believe in vampires. They would think it to be some sort of cover up," he elaborated. "I can get rid of the body, if you can help me with something. But you'll have to live the lifestyle of a vampire, and not like a human. Which means you can't see your friends, can't go to school, no sunlight unless it's for something I direct you to do..."

Vaguely, Alphonse wondered if "living a vampire lifestyle" would mean sleeping in coffins. But the thing that had really bothered him about this half-ass proposition was, "not being able to see your friends." _What about Isaac? What am I supposed to tell him? _He couldn't help but ask himself. And just how long would he have to live that lifestyle? Where would this all take him? But, help? What did Ed mean by "help him?" Lord, this man was complicated to decipher. He was about as hard to solve as the cheat codes in Mortal Kombat.

Before the boy had time to ask any of these questions, Ed was on his feet and looking quite serious now, his ivory skin accented by the moon's pale rays, shining in through the window from the beautiful night sky. He looked almost haunting... like a classic textbook vampire. Gosh, he was gorgeous, Al realized with a slight flush of his cheeks. "I'll try and explain everything to you later when we get to somewhere a bit more secure to talk about such things. I'm sure you can wait till then, am I right?"

Al didn't really have any choice but to just sort of smile and nod. And he had a feeling he would be doing a lot of that around Edward.

* * *

End Chapter One

**Closing Notes: **_Hey, just in case anyone reads this chapter again, which might actually happen, I re-vamped it a bit. I changed some things.  
I realized I accidentally called Trisha "stoned" in a couple of parts, but generally that refers to smoking pot. And while she DOES do that, she also uses (or rather, USED) Heroin and Cocaine.  
When I had first written this chapter, I didn't have much knowledge about drugs. I had smoked pot a few times, but that was it. (And honestly, back then I thought that whenever you were high on ANYTHING it was referred to as being 'stoned.') But anyway, so I changed her terms to being HIGH rather than STONED._

_  
So, anyway. If you're new to this story, then __**Welcome**__. And I hope you enjoyed yourself. Honestly, don't give up on it. Once you start reading, it becomes really addictive. I can't even tell you how many times I've wanted to stop writing it, but every time I start to give up, I reread a chapter or two, and I get right back into it. It's an honestly good story with __**NOT ENOUGH REVIEWS**__. So just give it a try and I'm sure you'll become hooked._

_  
Thank you, and please continue onto the next chapter. _


	2. Accusation

**Author's Notes: **_Yes. Another re-vamped chapter. I honestly have become a fucking grammar-nazi, and I really needed to do this. And while it is currently almost four o'clock in the morning, I'm sure everyone will thank me later that I finally accomplished some good-old fashioned editing. THIS is why I don't need a beta._

**Warnings: **_Language. Eventual!Elricest. Ponytail!Ed and Al. Gore. Violence, Childhood Memory Loss, Abusive Parental Issues. _

**Another Note: **_Sorry about typing so much it's just... I want to get something out of the way here; I know in classic Vampire tradition, vampires cannot enter a house unless invited by a person living there. But think about it; obviously the reader knows Ed __**is**__ Alphonse's brother, meaning he had been invited inside the house back when he was a boy. Hell, he LIVED there. It's pretty easy once you think about it. That's all._

* * *

The bag was nearly full. But then again, there wasn't any way Al could be sure about how much he would need to take with him. He had pretty much all of his clothes stuffed into his backpack. But... how long would he be gone? He couldn't help but think how indecisive the vampire was being when he had told him that they would be gone for quite a while. What kind of answer had that been?

All the while, Edward stood in the doorway of the small bedroom, keeping a sharp gold eye on the boy. Now and then he would point out how Al wouldn't need a certain item, and it would be best for him to leave said item behind. Though mostly, he just stayed silent, observing the movements of the younger male, and how he seemed intensively concentrated on his work. He took a moment to remind himself that the kid in front of him wasn't immortal. He had to keep refreshing his memory and thinking to himself,_ Damn, this boy must have some kind of weird life. The way his mom's room looked; all the powder and syringes... it must be so horrible. He probably has never felt real love or what it's like to have a real family... _

"Hey, Al," Ed voiced quietly, looking nonchalantly at his fingertips. When Alphonse didn't say anything, he went ahead with the question. "So... do you have a girlfriend or some kind of fuck buddy? You got a friend with benefits or anything like that?" The way the words came out you would think that he spoke like that every day.

Al's face turned a bright red and he clutched tightly to the shirt in his hands. What was he supposed to say? What did vampires think about two guys kissing? I mean, it wasn't like he and Isaac were really _dating, _but Isaac _had_ asked, hadn't he? Was he supposed to say, _'Yeah, you know. I have one of those really beautiful, sexy girlfriends with huge breasts and dark eyes and blonde hair. She's a real wild woman in bed, too.' _He had to bite back a laugh at that. It was an absurd thought; what girl in her right mind would go out with him? All the girls that fit his description were taken... of course by football players and good looking drama geeks who could think up some clever words of poetry to win their hearts. Gosh, he wished he could be irresistible like that.

Edward furrowed his brows, and cocked his head to the left. "Are you just going to stand there like a post or are you going to answer my question?" he asked, placing his slender hands on his even more thin hips. He wasn't a naturally impatient person when it came to conversations, but the way Al had frozen made him feel uncomfortable. "There isn't a problem with my question, is there?"

_Of course there is, you idiot!_ Alphonse thought, and he could feel a hard gold gaze going right through his back. "N-no, I actually have a... a friend, you see. He's a real nice guy, but he sort of surprised me by kissing me tonight... earlier. And I don't know if I like him or not, because technically I'm not gay or bi or anything like that... so I'm not sure how to handle the entire situation. Which is why I'm so apprehensive about leaving. He'll think I ran away from him, and I don't want to compromise our friendship for a real relationship." He took a long breath and set the shirt he had been holding into the backpack. He hadn't really intended to spill his guts like that, but honesty _was_ the best policy. Did it really matter? After all this was over, he never planned on seeing this man again.

_Man? _He asked himself, skeptically. Just how old was Ed? He didn't dare ask... Al figured that if he was meant to know, the vampire would tell him in due time. Eventually, Edward stood straight, coughing slightly and then looked awkwardly at the shorter boy. "So... you like it up the ass then, eh? I should've known... a sissy boy like you with a fucked up mom couldn't _possibly_ be normal." Again, there was no hesitation in Ed's voice, once more making it seem as though it was natural for him to voice such disdainful opinions.

"That's not true!" Al shouted, stamping his foot, reverting back to his childhood. "I'm NOT a sissy boy or any of that crap! I just so happen to like my hair long, and I already told you; I'm NOT gay! Isaac is my best friend... I don't want to ruin that..." his words trailed off into the silence of the night, leaving the dull hum of cars passing outside on the street. They were left in an uneasy quiet stillness that made Al wish he could think up a better argument.

"You know... you're a lot like me," Edward finally replied, a quizzical tone lacing the sentence. "Obstinate, refusing to be labeled, and strong willed. Plus the ponytail thing." He twisted a finger into his golden locks, tied back tight with an elastic hair band. "If I didn't know better, I'd think we..." Ed stopped there, shaking his head unbelievingly and grabbing a stick of deodorant off of the small oak nightstand closest to the door. Tossing it to the other boy, he grinned. "Even if you do like guys, it doesn't matter much to me. After I'm through with you there won't be much for you to worry about. We'll find a way to hide the thing with your mom's death."

Alphonse caught the minty thing of 'pit-stick', and set that in the backpack as well. He didn't have much to say after that, just deciding to keep his mouth shut and follow the elder's lead. After all, there wasn't anything else he could do.

* * *

Ed slipped silently out of the teenager's bedroom, and down the hall, taking a quick glance back to make sure Al was following him. He was, indeed, and frigidly so, for fear of maybe seeing his mother in her current state. "Don't lag behind, I don't particularly trust you to stay with me. I know how most kids are these days. Backstabbing little fuck-ups." The only sound after that was of their footfalls on the sea foam carpet. Until: "I suggest you don't look in the room with the powder. It might be detrimental to your health to see something that... grotesque."

The bronze eyed other nodded, though he knew the vampire in front of him couldn't see. Still, he wasn't too sure if he could keep himself from taking even the slightest glance. Somewhere inside of himself he thought he sort of wanted to see what a completely drained woman would look like. Regardless of if it was his mother or not. Vaguely, he wondered if anyone else had that kind of morbid fascination.

The vampire passed Al's mother's bedroom first, without even a look and continued on down the hall. Alphonse, however, clenched his eyes shut and when he felt like he had passed the room he opened his eyes. Too soon, though, because he caught the worst sight his eyes had ever beheld. He had only been a few seconds off, but that had been enough. All of a sudden he felt the hamburger he had eaten hours ago with Isaac come back up into his throat. That was the least of his problems; bronze eyes went wide and he could help but let out a strangled cry that most definitely caught Ed's attention.

There, amidst the syringes and Ziploc mini packets of cocaine and rolling paper for pot, lay his mother. Her blue nightdress was hiked up high on her thighs, like a distant memory that he could barely recall and her mouth was dry and cracked and purple colored. Her neck had two very distinct puncture wounds in it, breaking the lovely skin she once had that hadn't been totally diminished by drugs. Her eyes bugged out and she smelled of death. Absently, he supposed decomposition happened quickly to a body exposed to a vampire's "kiss", as some may call it. She had large black and red marks on her cheeks from God knows what, and nail marks on her collarbone. How could he not have heard her screams? But a second longer looking at the scene said that the pillow had been tossed askew, assuring that her screams would be silenced or at least muffled. The loss of breath had turned her lips bruise colored.

All of this was captured in that one look he gave the mess. And it was all too much. Alphonse let out another big cry and he shoved his face in his hands to hide himself from the disgusting vision. He felt steamy tears spilling through the little slits in his fingers and he unwillingly backed against the wall. At that moment, he didn't care what Ed thought... why should he anyway? He had only just met the guy.

Slipping down the plaster wall to sit on his rump, he began to sob and sob, and sob. He didn't want to be there, he didn't want to see that, even if the other part of his mind had insisted that he looked. What a stupid mistake! _Nice, nice. I just got the vision of my life... it would've been easier to see her with her wrists slit on the bathroom floor than to see that._ He felt so selfish... all he could think of was the slight trauma he had achieved by seeing that, not even the simple fact that he had seen her dead, but how scared he had been. Al's knees tucked up and the caps touched his mid-section. It made him look (and feel) like a small child, afraid of the boogeyman in the closet that didn't exist. He wanted this all to be gone, he wanted to be asleep and wake up from this nightmare. It was like another macabre Stephen King novel. Like the whacked-out dream that all those people had in _'The Stand'. _Had he not been so occupied with screaming and crying, he would've taken a moment to realize that this was a lot more easy to handle than anything had been in _'The Stand'_. At least the entire world wasn't dying of Captain Trips (a.k.a The Super flu), and people weren't having dreams about corn. He shivered: the mere thought of that problem substituting this one was enough to make him grateful to not have been more hurt by this whole incident.

It wasn't long before he felt hands on his shoulders and Ed kneeling next to him. Ice, those hands were like ice. Like a ghost on his damp skin. "Hey, hey. You idiot, I told you not to look but you had to be a wise ass and go and take a gander. Gosh, why do I put up with shit like this?" Despite how gentle those hands kneading into his back were, the words were just the contrary. He was hard to read, Al distantly decided, and had never been so sure about someone's characteristics. One hand, the one farthest from Edward, went lower to the small of the younger boy's back. Precariously low, as a matter of fact. "Get a hold of yourself! C'mon, death is natural! Look, I'm sorry you had to see that, but I _did_ warn you!"

Alphonse didn't finally stop crying until he felt another ice-cold touch descend upon him; Ed's chest pressed against his side in an odd half hug. He felt like yelling, _"What's with all these __**guys**__ all over me today?!" _Instead he looked into those golden orbs and felt all of his face turn a bright red. The look on the other boy's face was so forlorn and lost and... dark that it was almost haunting. But beautiful, his face was definitely beautiful. "E-Edward?" His voice was a little shaky and came out as an embarrassed squeak. He had only felt a gaze like that once, and that was from Isaac just before he was kissed.

Strong hands gripped roughly into the edges of his shirt and yanked him closer, even still. Al squeaked again and tried to wriggle away. "Damn, kid. You must have some kind of complex, or something. Were you not hugged as a child or whatever? S'pretty sad. I'm only trying to make you feel better."

Auburn blonde hair fell into the younger teen's face and he tried not to look up into that captivating canvas of features. It was scary how drawn he was every time he looked into that face, and he had to obscure his own vision to keep himself away. Was Ed really that hot? Taking a quick glance upwards, Al decided it was true. "I-I'm all right now, can you let me glow? I-I mean... go?! Can you let me go?" He felt stupid for making such a ridiculous grammatical error, and wanted to hide even more then, until he felt that icy grip release and the semi-warmth of another body completely abandon him. He almost missed it because it was gone so fast.

Edward was on his feet now, and looking down into the darkness on the floor. Even the full moon outside didn't illuminate the house... it was so dark. "Grab your bag and let's get the hell out of here."

In the blood rush of all the panic Al had felt, he hadn't noticed that he had dropped the backpack over where the entrance to his mother's room was. Oh, how he wished he didn't have to go over there to get the bag. He truly didn't want to see that again. "Ca-can you... get it for me?" He offered a small, weary smile and he could barely make out the blur of nightshade that was the older boy's face. That was probably a good thing, considering how he kept feeling that odd sensation whenever he _could _see him.

Without a word, Ed stepped over him and grabbed the checkered backpack. He thrust it into Al's arms, and turned, motioning for him to follow.

Alphonse staggered to his feet like a drunkard, still a little lightheaded. He felt like vomiting, and didn't know how far he could make it before he eventually did. The house reeked of death and early decomposing matter. For a moment, he considered setting the place on fire and never returning, leaving all the people at school, and more importantly Isaac, to give him up for dead. But that would be unfair, and he did eventually plan on returning home... someday.

When they finally were outside, the boy took a long breath of fresh air, grateful to be out of the stench of his house. Edward was already on his way down the sidewalk, sidestepping the light of every street lamp. But Al collapsed on the wet grass of his front lawn and stared up longingly at the night sky. He had a lot to think about, but he figured now wasn't the time to mull it all over. For now, he was content lying in the weeds. He suspected that Ed had noticed his absence and was waiting patiently... that is, until he felt a foot kick into his right ribcage. Al choked out a cough, and instantly sat upright glaring up into that vindictive face.

"Every time I start to walk away your still sitting on your ass! Do you want someone to find you? Or worse; do you want someone to find _me_?" Ed shouted, in a low voice. His burning gold eyes were narrowed and he looked agitated. He was reconsidering taking this kid along with him and leaving him to his own devices. Even killing the boy himself would be satisfactory; usually one feed a night did not satisfy an average vampire.

Muttering a soft, "_Sorry", _he stumbled up and began walking at an alarmingly fast pace. Ed looked at his back with an expression of puzzled amusement. He shrugged to himself, and thought, _What the hell. If it turns out he's not the right one, I'll just take what I need and continue. He's just a seventeen year old brat... how much harm could he do?_

As it would turn out, seventeen-year-old brats can cause a shit load of harm.

They walked foreword, beginning the first steps of their journey that would eventually lead them to places neither had ever dreamed of. Some places in a future that was both near, and distant. And as they went during these first few steps, neither had realized that in the rush of things, they had both forgotten to dispose of Trisha Elric's lifeless body. A fact that would turn up in a little less than two days, and bite both boys in the ass.

* * *

Somewhere between Oren Viaden Street and Himren Way, the footfalls of two boys stopped dead in their tracks. Consequentially, Al, who was walking fairly close behind the elder male, ran face first into Edward's back, knocking him forward a step. He didn't ask why they had stopped, only peered over his shoulder to make sure no one had been following them. He figured he'd have to get used to being paranoid; he was positive all vampires live in fear of being found out.

"I can't remember where it is," Ed said softly, and Al wasn't sure if he had been talking to himself or making a statement. Either way, he waited until an elaboration was made... or at least attempted. "I was positive it was somewhere around here, but the streets have changed a bit since I was here last."

"What street were you looking for?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't even remember its name." An embarrassed laugh followed that, and Edward turned to face his companion. "I'm kind of relying on my shitty sense of direction. It faded a while back, and I'm hoping instinct will get me by." He averted his gaze away, as though admitting something like that would be shameful. But it was the first bit of character-- _real_ character-- Ed had shown since the first time they had spoken. Which was only an hour ago. The sentence forced a little bit of who Ed really was to filter out into the open.

_Yes! First insight! I hope psychology training in high school worked, because I think I just made some kind of breakthrough without even meaning to! _Al's happy thoughts entered, and he smiled to himself. If he kept up this "Man of few words" thing, he might be able to get the vampire to dish out a little more information. It could prove to be a useful strategy someday. _I was destined for greatness... _he thought, and mentally laughed at himself.

"Instinct, huh? Well, is there something specific we're looking for on this street?" Al asked, finally. It had taken him a moment to actually say something, considering all of his mental gloating.

"Yeah... it's a place I used to go when I needed to think... back when I was mortal and I lived in this area. I can't remember, but I think I had a family. I already told you, the only member of it that I know is my Father, but he isn't good for much. In fact, I could care less if I ever saw his ugly face again." Edward paused there, and covered his mouth in a classic look of thoughtfulness. "It had a few boards placed over the entrance and for some reason I remember there being someone there with me all the time. I don't know, could just be my imagination..."

That struck the other boy as odd. He seemed to recall a place like that, maybe from a certain type of dreamscape he had had. But what was most peculiar was what Ed had said. "You... used to live in this area? But if you don't remember anything before you became a vampire, how do you know that?" A bit uncomfortable with the way he was prying into Ed's life, Al shifted his weight from foot to foot. He didn't like being in such an isolated area with someone who had just killed his mother.

"Because it wasn't that long ago that I was human. I'm only 18, and I just became a vampire about a year and a half ago. Even though I wont grow or age anymore, I can still keep track of the passing years. Understand?" Edward's voice was so calm and collected... _cool _sounding; it was like he had stepped out of an Anne Rice novel.

The description she had given of _Lestat De Lioncourt _could've perfectly fit the elder man. His aura, his ominous eyes, his thick blonde hair... the only thing out of place was his height; Lestat was around six feet tall, while Ed was not even an inch taller than Al. But that would change; he had said he wouldn't grow anymore now, so Alphonse was bound to grow taller eventually. He had been one of the tallest teens in his high school. Of course that didn't keep him from getting picked on and ridiculed by his peers.

At length, Al nodded. It shocked him only mildly that this mature, beautiful person had only been a vampire for a little over a year. There was something about him that made him seem like an elder vampire. The kind you find living in castles in Transylvania, or the mythical stereotypical vampire. The way he spoke; his rough voice, but the off key European accent that Al himself possessed. Though he was German, he had no idea what Ed could be. Something from Europe surely, that much could be true. It was a little funny: a supernatural figment of every young girl's fantasy who watched Bela Lugosi in the original Dracula had just fallen into his lap. Well-- more like on his bed, considering the circumstances of how they had met.

In all honesty, Edward was much better looking than Bela Lugosi, or Stuart Townsend or any of the other people who had played "Movie Vampires." Dear God, they had no idea! To them, vampires were just a shadow of the horrors in some child's imagination. Just a cold wind on fog passing through an eerie graveyard in the dead of night, the monster in your closet, even a ghost... thus a vampire had no meaning in the world, except to those who put forth their best knowledge on the study of them, and truly believed in the undead.

Alphonse was a seventeen-year-old boy with no place in life. He was still trying to figure out who he was, or how he was going to become that person. He had never had time to let himself believe in spiritual, supernatural apparitions, or things from beyond the grave. Hell, he had never even seen a proper horror movie. Occasionally, he would find a good book though. Usually a Stephen King novel would suit his fancy. But he never saw it as a gateway into the way of the actual world. In fact, those books were neutral sources to him. Again, just the work of an over-active imagination. There was nothing wrong with that; it just never really interested him. He hadn't thought twice of vampires in the seventeen years he had been alive on this planet. They were just... a thing that couldn't be explained.

"Anyway," the sound of that word was like an instant shock to his senses, and Al was back on the street with the other man. "I need to find this place before dawn, or at least get to somewhere substantial for sleeping," Ed told him, nonchalantly. "My house is in the next town over, and the night is far too close to being over to make a trip like that." He went on to explain that the following night they would make the trip into the town where his home was, and from there he would tell Al everything and anything he wanted to know about what they would be doing afterwards.

For the third time in the past ten minutes, Al let his mind wander. He didn't want to leave town without saying goodbye to Isaac; that much he knew. Isaac had been his best friend for years, and kiss or not, Alphonse loved him like family. He had been the person who stuck by him when he didn't have anyone to vent to, or to rely on.

It made him think back on a particular incident. One night, about two years back, Al had been alone--as usual. Trisha was out on the town, doing God knows what. It had been around eleven or so, and he had been in bed for the better part of an hour. Strange footsteps where sounding down the hall, and every time he would sit up, the footfalls would cease. It was scaring the hell out of him, so at last he reached for the phone on his nightstand-- the same phone whose bill was due in two days, and there was no way of paying it-- and dialed Isaac's number.

The dark haired boy had answered the phone normally, as though it had been early. He didn't sound like he had been asleep or even in bed. Distantly, Al could hear the T.V and a few voices.

"Hello?"

_He's probably having a party. Maybe if I hang up now, he wont know who it was..._

Just as he pulled the phone from his ear and was about to press the "off" button, he heard his name, soft and concerned. "...Al?" He yanked the phone back to his ear, and smiled wide enough to make his cheeks hurt.

"Isaac? How'd you know it was me?"

Alas, Caller ID had been his downfall.

"What's wrong? You're usually in bed by now. Is something up, Al?"

Alphonse had looked down as though he were ashamed by how absurd his reason for calling was, even though he knew his best friend couldn't see. He had opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a cracked little breathy word. He cleared his throat and continued; "Mom's gone. She's out pedaling some kind of this or that... and I'm alone."

A loud crash broke off the rest of what he was going to say, coming from Isaac's end of the line. He then heard the other teen yell; "Goddammit, that was my dad's favorite vase! What the hell are you guys doing?!" Al suppressed a small laugh.

"Are you having a party?"

"...kind of."

"Oh, okay. Well, never mind. I'll just deal with this myself." Again, he had meant to just hang up, but Isaac yelled for him.

"Wait! Al, what's the matter? I heard the whole thing about your Mom being gone, and that you were alone, but what was the rest?"

Alphonse had smiled again, this time a very sweet one, happy that he knew Isaac really cared. "I keep hearing footsteps, and the floor keeps creaking outside of my bedroom. And then, just when I'm getting up to see what it is, it stops. About two minutes after I lay back down, it starts up again. God, I'm so scared. What should I do?"

"Okay, just keep calm, and I'll be there in a few minutes. First, I got to kick my so called "Friends" out of my house."

Then he hung up. Al laid back down and set the phone back on its charger. Every once in a while he heard the steps again, but it didn't bother him as much then: He knew that soon his friend would be there for him.

Eventually, Isaac _did_ show up. He crawled through Al's bedroom window, and fell to the hard wood floor. The younger boy had bolted upright, a little alarmed but after a moment he grew calm again. Isaac crawled into his best friend's bed and gave him a long, comforting hug. "It's going to be okay..." through the dim moonlight, the dark haired teen could see the wetness in his friend's bronze eyes, and had only hugged him tighter then.

In his heart he had known that it wasn't the fright that had made Al cry; it was the fact he didn't have his mom to go to. Even if she _had _been there, chances are she would've been too high to care. So Isaac simply ran his hand over Alphonse's back, and kept on reassuring him it would all be all right.

Cool fall wind blew up against the sides of the buildings, and Al got hold of his surroundings again. He looked over at Edward who was watching him with very intent golden eyes. Al blushed and looked down at his faded shoes. "I... want to go say goodbye to my best friend before we leave. He's always been really good to me, and it would hurt him if he found I had disappeared without saying goodbye."

Ed's lips twisted up into something of a grin, and he raised a thin eyebrow. "Oh, is that the one you have a crush on? The little boy who gave you your first kiss?" A very vampire-like cackle erupted from him and it filled the night air with sinister cruelty. Though, he had meant it to be anything but cruel. One of his favorite pass times was making people flustered just to get a rise out of them. And he could tell that Al was one of the people who were affected easily by such jesting.

This time the affect wasn't the desired one; the mortal was unnaturally calm about his answer. "Actually, that's right. But I told you before; I'm not sure how I feel about him. He's a very special and kind person, and anyone would be lucky to have him. I just don't know if I'm his 'one.' That's all." Alphonse smiled kindly, hoping that the elder would understand without blowing it out of proportion.

"Special, hm?" There was something he liked about that word; it held real meaning. 'Special.' But for some reason it didn't seem truthful. It seemed like the words of a liar-- something that a lover would use to lure a 'special person' into bed. That was what didn't appeal in the word. "Are you ever going to be with him? Is that why you plan on returning?" Edward asked, making it seem like an innocent question, void of concern.

Al opened his mouth to say something to that, but there was something he didn't trust in those gold eyes. There was something there all of a sudden; something that was meant to be prying, but turned out to look like a weird child molester. His heart was telling him what a bad situation this could be if he didn't--

_Run. _

"Wh-what?" He said out loud, although he had wished it had stayed inside of his head, because instantly Ed was on the defensive, as though he had read the boy's thoughts.

_Run Away... Isaac needs you. Just please, don't go with him. He doesn't even want you around._

Logic told him that it was a sure possibility that if Al ever over used whatever Ed needed him for, it was likely that the boy would be that particular night's meal, and he refused to be a meal to any vampire, or anyone for that matter. Gut instinct told him that he should be listening to--

_RUN._

That was all the prompting he needed. The conversation was falling by the wayside, and they hadn't been making any progress finding that spot that the blonde had been searching for. Eventually, dawn would rise. Where would he go? It wasn't a situation he was too eager to be in. So without time to think about it more thoroughly, Al gave the vampire a long look and turned quickly, running. He had left his backpack where he had been standing.

Run turned into a sprint, sprint into a mad dash. He kept going like that for nearly a mile before his legs began to feel very strange. The concrete beneath him had turned into foreign asphalt, and all he could smell was car exhaust.

It was a sudden jolt.

There was that pressure first, and it began at his left side: the side that was facing the street. That pressure melded into pure force and slammed through his entire frame, all the way to his right side-- near the brick walls he was passing. It wasn't much long after that that the pure force became a full-on body slam against the nearest building, and he collided hard enough to knock him off his feet.

That building was a youth center and rehabilitation for teens. (Of course, because of the time, there was no one in it, but I just thought it would be nice if you guys knew which building he slammed into. Well, anyway...)

Alphonse was crouching down, holding his right arm that was pretty well bent up, and his head felt sore and soaked with either sweat or blood. Honestly, he wouldn't have been surprised if it was a mix between them. But that was the least of his concerns. His biggest was where in the world had all of that strength come from? What had thrown him so forcibly from the sidewalk into the brick hardness of a passing wall?

Then the shadow of a body cast from the streetlights fell over him, and he closed his eyes remaining on the ground. Abruptly, it all became very clear as to what exactly had happened. And immediately Al's mind flew back to earlier that evening when Ed had warned him about leaving.

_"Don't lag behind, I don't particularly trust you to stay with me. I know how most kids are these days. Backstabbing little fuck-ups." _

And something else he had said, before he had begun packing:

_"If you try and get away, you have to know something; I'll always find you because I know the scent of your blood. I could find you no matter where you try to hide. And when I do, I can't guarantee that my stomach wont be too full for an additional snack. I can always get another brat to bring along. You were just more convenient."_

Those words were ringing in his head, and he knew instantly what a horrible, _stupid_ decision he had made. He was so hell-bent on getting away and feeling safe again that he had completely disregarded what Edward had warned him of earlier.

Finally, Al looked up, and wasn't especially surprised to find the vampire looming above him, staring down with an indiscernible expression. Whichever, he figured it might be wise to stand up, rather than wait for the man to yank him up.

When finally they were on a nearly eye-to-eye level, Ed grinned and turned his gaze down. He lifted his hands, the back of them facing the other male. "You know, I could've sworn there was something I told you about this. Something I... oh, what's that word? Oh yes! Something I _warned_ you about." He lifted his eyes a little and the hands came forward, gently pressing the younger boy against the wall. Then his palms turned outward, and he had cornered Alphonse.

"I-I'm s-sorry, I wasn't thinking and I--"

"See, when humans don't think, they get hurt. Especially when someone wiser then them pre-tells them about certain consequences that might occur if rules aren't met." The vampire's face was hidden in the overhanging darkness from the large railing sticking out of the youth center, but those cruel eyes were very clearly visible, and they were chilling.

Al felt fingers touch a mark above his right eyebrow, and he winced with the pain that followed that simple contact.

Edward withdrew, and those fingers were covered with bright crimson blood. "Peculiar, isn't it? It almost seems as though you're trying to tempt me to do something. Well, that would be a _very_ poor thing to do," he whispered with a patronizing tone, like a mother speaking to her child. He brought his fingers to his mouth and licked away all of the shimmering substance, his eyes narrowed as though it were a sinful treat only rarely savored.

Then he looked up a little just as his tongue left his own skin. "So as you can probably see, Alphonse Elric, if I'm offered something, I usually don't pass up the invitation. And besides, what other type of punishment is suitable for such events. I'm at a loss." A mock sigh followed that; a sound that was so juvenile it was funny.

Alphonse gave him a complacent grin, saying: "Please, feel free. I don't have anything else, now do I? But maybe it would be good if I asked you something; how many people do you plan on explaining your little sob story to? How many people are really going to help out a vampire? You _need_ me, remember?" He had never been so proud of his reasoning, or his will to live. Maybe it was true; when faced with life or death scenarios, the human adrenaline is pumped into high gear and they can do anything. That's pretty cool...

"What on earth gave you _that _stupid notion?" Ed's eyes narrowed, and his fingers clenched around the boy's collar. As much of a blow it was to his ego, he had to admit to himself that Al was absolutely right. Dammit, that was a shitty feeling. Aside from that, he was still internally battling with himself to control his urge to take another little taste of that delicious blood. Oh, it had been very good, indeed.

But, familiar in sense, as well. And not just because he had fed off of the mortal's mother, but because of something else. It wasn't an everyday taste, certainly not. It wasn't the type of blood you come by often, especially in a city like this. His eyes caught on a dribble of that blood cascading down Alphonse's temple, and over his cheek to catch haphazardly on his smooth jaw-line. It was enough to stir the feeling in him again, to where he could so easily dip his head a bit to let his fangs just fall into such a perfectly sculpted neck.

What about the plan, his brain asked him. Yes, he answered, what about the plan?

This child was an intricate part of that "plan," and wasting his mortal abilities by making him _immortal_ would be exactly that; a waste. Because he needed Al's ability to be in sunlight, and to go to places where Ed couldn't be. Places where_ they _were. He had to keep this child human for as long as possible, meaning he would have to protect him from his (Meaning Ed's) kind. He would have to shelter him momentarily. Great, another inconvenience in the household. Wasn't _'she' _enough? Why have another pest around?

Another part of the plan, he told himself. And for these reasons, he ignored the faint sound of a heartbeat and pulsing veins awaiting their intrusion, and let gold eyes fall back onto that scared, innocent face. "Fine. I don't care for your type of blood anyway," he said at last, childishly. He released his grip on Alphonse, and shoved him away, ignoring the tongue being stuck at him. It didn't stop him from hearing a cast-aside thought from the boy's mind:

_Didn't stop you from killing my mother, now did it, dear Lestat?_

Ed stopped walking and turned his head to glance back over his shoulder. "Comments like that wont behoove your health very much. I suggest you avoid thinking such thoughts."

Those words caused goose bumps to race up Al's arms, and he stared pitifully after the vampire. Sadly, he realized his thoughts would have to be kept much more private from now on, especially if he wanted to remain alive. He began following, dragging his feet in dread, all of the happy energy he had had a few hours prior with Isaac long forgotten and already a thing of the past.

This was going to have to be his life for a while.

A while later, Al realized he had drying blood on the right side of his face. That startled him a little. He hadn't remembered he was bleeding. His fear had mainly been keeping his neck puncture-wound free.

They still hadn't gotten far; maybe 15 or 20 blocks from where they had begun. The little AWOL stunt Al had pulled had caused them to drift off course and took them only a street away from the kid's house.

The streets were nearly abandoned, save a car about ever five or ten minutes.

Both males figured that it was around four o'clock. The sun rose at six thirty, give or take a few minutes. That gave them enough time, Ed had explained. He had been beginning to recall things again. He had started leading them a specific way, instead of the "I'm-lost-but-I'm-going-to-play-it-cool," act he was pulling earlier, where he had pretended to know where they were going. He kept reminding Al that this was only going to be the place they stayed tonight, and as soon as nightfall rose again, they would be on the move...

But discretely.

* * *

Edward tore the large pieces of wood away from their concrete base. There had been a crawl space, but it had obviously not been made for 17 and 18 year old boys to crawl through. No, no. It looked as though the last person to use it would've been about...six or seven.

They had decided to just pry the large slabs of scrap wood away from the empty space. It seemed very, very dark in that place; perfect for Ed's sleeping.

The sky had turned deep violet, and soft, pale rays of pink light had begun to stretch into the vast horizon. That was a little frightening-- or at least some incentive for them to hurry their asses up a bit.

It had been around a quarter after six when both of them had stumbled upon the spot Edward had been searching for the entire night. Relief had come slowly at first, but treaded away when at 6:23 there were still four more boards to pull back. Al had been standing behind the vampire, watching him attempt to find a more reasonable way to get into the concrete little building.

Golden, concentrated eyes scanned over the structural build of the wood power-nailed into the plaster doorframe. The wood was rotting and moss was growing thickly in some spots that had been exposed to moisture in the rainy season. Those boards would be weak, and would break easily, but Ed wanted a clear, clean break. He didn't want residue left on the panels. If only he had something to pry the nails out with...

"Al, come here."

The boy in question stepped closer, and leaned down to where the man was kneeling. "Y-yes?" He managed in a fearful voice. He didn't like this one bit, but he listened as Edward gave him directions on how to loosen the nails with his fingers, and eventually the slabs of wood would come loose, giving them a straight shot into the shelter. But he had to work hastily; the sun would catch up with them sooner or later, and the sun waits for no one. That was a strict lesson every vampire had learned one time or another; the sun has no friends-- it does not wait till every one of the creatures sleuths back into their damned holes.

He began twisting at the heads of several different nails, his fingers slipped and scraped across the rusted parts. He was working at one specific board: the one closest to the bottom, because a few of the boards had already been removed from the lower region, one more gone would give them easy access to crawl through the gap, into the safety of shadow.

A loud yelp escaped him as a sharp edge caught his calloused fingers, tearing away at the rough skin. _Nice, now I can get sick and die at an early age. Here I've lived through a vampire messing with me, killing my mom, and I'm going to die from an infection. My luck, I swear. _

He saw blood trickle over the rotted board he was working on, and it slicked over his fingers, making them crimson colored and shimmering in the street lamplight. If there was a proper description for how his fingers began to look after pulling loose two or three nails, the best would probably be thus; a raw slab of hamburger meat. They were torn at, and he had to concentrate on the job he was made to complete. Al guessed what kind of smug smile would be on Ed's face if he turned around; he would be standing there looking down at him, that self-righteous grin plastered on his thin lips, his arms crossed and contempt burning in him.

But when Alphonse glanced back, he was surprised to find terror in the older man's features, and hesitation, worry, anxiousness. And a look at the sky explained why that was:

It was the sun.

Bits and pieces of light were covering the roads like scraps of yellow construction paper. They were still on the west side of a building, shielding them from the blinding, melting shine. But that wouldn't last long.

In a final act of desperation at the slow progress Al had been making, Edward shoved him to the side and clenched his long, ghostly fingers around the entire bottom board, ripping it out in one swift movement.

That opened about three more feet of crawl space and Ed ventured in first, quickly, pulling an army crawl like a hermit crab retreating back into the shell. "GET IN HERE." He demanded, impatiently.

Al jumped and pulled himself inside the dank, dark space, just as the sunlight flooded the place he had been standing. He breathed heavily, and leaned his back against the cold cement, closing his eyes.

The remaining boards shielded them from the sun, and kept it chilly inside the place.

Edward was huddled in the corner, his knees hugged to his chest, and also heaving his breath. The gold in his orbs were clearly visible through the musty darkness, and he looked scared. That probably was a near-death experience for him, and Alphonse had to curse himself for frightening him so badly. It wasn't until then that he gazed down and his fingers were black. (Well, actually they were red but in the lack of light, blood red looks black.)

He stuck them into his mouth, and cleaned off the blood as best as he could. It was a coppery flavor, and warm to his tongue. Al made a soft sound of approval that drew the vampire's attention.

A strange expression of shock spread over Ed's face, and he cocked an eyebrow. The image of the younger boy with his digits in his mouth, making noises was a little arousing, but he wasn't exactly keen on admitting that. But he was slightly curious as to just what the hell he was doing. "Er... whatcha got going on over there, friend?"

Al's fingers slipped away, and a smear of blood ran across his chin. He felt his face turn deep red, and embarrassment tossed into his stomach. "My skin got cut, and it really hurts... I thought that maybe if I sucked the blood off, it would help." Yeah, well. Honesty is good, right? In this particular case, lying wouldn't have necessarily been a horrible thing to do. It would've saved him a good long blush.

After a while, the mortal was the first to fall asleep. His arms were wrapped tight around his legs, and his auburn blonde head was leaned against the sidewall.

The shelter was anything but little. There was an overturned desk in a far corner, and some torn up couches and such. It looked like it was once a recreation room. Pool balls and cue's lay scattered on the floor, and from the soft light from outside filtering through the broken boards, Ed could see an odd shade of dust was hovering all around. There were books with pages ripped out, and little sketches on notebook paper. This place felt surreal... Unnatural. But there was a strange aura about the shelter that was telling him that he had been here before but... With company.

He looked over and watched Al closely as the boy slept. His neck was clearly visible from behind a shock of his lengthy hair. It was so tempting... But no. He wouldn't betray the trust that had just began to grow within him. And why was it he couldn't get to sleep? The sun was out bright and full, and he was protected from it. So... Why was he unable to actually get some shut eye? What was disturbing him?

There was a lot on his little vampire mind, that was for sure. He was scared. Who knew when they would find him? And now he was responsible for another life. _W-why? Why have I gotten myself so deep into trouble? Dad warned me against these things, and here I had to go and fuck it all up! Goddamn I'm so stupid!_

He slammed his hand against the concrete, and a large hollow howl emitted from the walls. That was creepy.

But in all, he had no idea where this whole thing would take him. He was lost, too. He needed help,_ too_.

His gold eyes traveled back to Alphonse, and he smiled hopefully. Maybe it was for the best that he found this kid. It could just be a miracle in disguise. And maybe, just maybe, he could open up to him a little bit, and let someone learn a little more about him. Maybe he could have a real friend for once, and not just a freeloader.

Maybe... maybe he could trust.

Edward leaned over and laid himself across the cold floor, burying his head into his arms, waiting for nightfall. Thoughts flew in and out, and eventually they quieted into something less coherent, and after about an hour, sleep came, carrying him off into the world he was most comfortable in.

They slept.

* * *

End Chapter 2

**Closing Notes: **_YES. ANOTHER CHAPTER ALL EDITED._

_Hah. Thanks._


	3. Obsession

**Author's Notes: **_Weee! Chapter 3! I'm insane right now, so please be prepared for some insanity incorporated into the story. Hahah. Also, I'm really wanting to drag this out. Like... certain revelations won't be discovered until later on. Also, I edited stuff. And the chapters now have names! The names really don't have anything to do with the content of the chapters, I just like "ion" words._

**Warnings: **_Things are going to start getting dark. Honestly, like I know the first chapters were kind of lighthearted and joking, but after a certain point, more angst and anger are going to come out. Anyway, on to the warnings. Angst, Elricest Yes, it will come eventually. Language, Gore, Violence, Abuse, and also a lot of other things. I feel like I've been stringing people along, promising some Elric on Elric action, and all that's been is a tad bit of touchy feely crap. Sorry 'bout that. It's my fault, obviously. _

* * *

Alphonse was shaken awake at roughly 5:13 pm. Because it was winter, the days had become shorter, colder, and darker. It was something that the vampire loved about the earth; nothing was absolute, and things were constantly and consistently changing. That chill was in the air again, and the fall of night had come swiftly, waking Edward up from his slumber that had completely taken him. He felt so comfortable in that place that he could've slept for a millennium.

But, he had realized, that wouldn't be a smart idea, and someone would find them eventually. So he had settled upon waking up his younger companion, and telling him that it was about time to get going... Or at least go get something to eat.

The kid had been irritatingly difficult to wake up. Ed had started slowly, shaking at his shoulders, prodding and poking him around on his back and nudging him with his foot. None of them seemed to be working. "Come on, I really don't have time for this. We're starting out earlier today you should be fine. Don't give up on me now." he spoke, eyes narrowed. It felt as though he were speaking to wallpaper. The only thing was, he suspected wallpaper would probably be a little more entertaining -- Or at least responsive.

At last, Al let out a soft groan, and he rolled over onto his back, half lidded, bronze eyes staring up into the black ceiling. He forgot for a moment where it was he was. But a glance to the side at the man next to him quickly refreshed his memory, and another groan threatened to come again. He wondered just how he got from leaning up against the wall to laying on the stone cold floor, and his mind wandered for a second, sleep returning without restraint. But Edward shook Al's shoulder aggressively.

"NO! Stay awake. Now seriously, you're going to have to get used to this if you're going to be a vamp-in-training." he smiled, and grabbed Alphonse by the sleeve, dragging him to his feet. "Up you go," Ed whispered, in a friendly voice. He had made a decision for both himself and the boy that he would try and be a little more patient, kind, and just pleasant, attempting to make the best of a bad situation. And if that meant he had to be sugary and sweet -- Both out of his character-- then so be it, if it would enable the kid to behave and not pull another stunt like he had the previous night.

Edward let his mind wander at that thought Just as the other boy's had, a minute or two prior, and he couldn't suppress the image of Al's face from entering into his train of thought. He thought for a long moment about how close they had been last night, right outside the youth center; bodies pressed near one another, and the frightened, curious expression that Alphonse had worn just as Ed had cleaned the blood from his own fingers with slow, long movements of his tongue. The very vaguely surprised and confused look that he had received at that simple little contact was enough to make him think of some other odd situations he could put the child in before he was through with him... The possibilities were virtually endless.

But when he noticed that Al was staggering, his head falling back a little in a drowsy manner, coming close to sleep once more, he pushed the thoughts aside reluctantly (He would return to them later, when the time was more convenient) and snatched his collar, yanking him foreword before Al let himself hit the ground on his back side.

Alphonse snapped out of it quickly, but his eyes still seemed to be searching for something, in their own little tired way. Man, this kid slept like a rock; if Ed wasn't careful, he would fall back asleep, and waking him up once was bad enough. "Alright, time to get serious. We have a lot of ground to cover and make up for lost time last night. The sky is nearly pitch black outside, so we need to get it moving." he explained, tossing his glance around the room to see what exactly it was that the other was looking at. As it turned out, Al had simply been zoning off, not really paying close attention to the vampire's words.

"In any case, " Edward continued, cocking a thin eyebrow. "You said you wanted to say goodbye to your friend, so we might as well accomplish that first, before we move on to my town. Isaac, right?" he asked.

At the mention of his friend's name, the younger man looked at Ed with a smile and nodded. "That's right, I almost forgot. If you don't mind, it's on the way out of town anyway, so we can just make a quick stop there, and I promise not to take long because I know how eager you are to--"

The vampire grinned. "It's fine. Tonight we have plenty of time for things like that, just don't..." he paused. "Spend three hours in there. I don't want to cut it as close as we did last time." Golden eyes seemed to shine, and for once he felt happy about saying something to make someone else feel better. For once he felt like he had nothing to feel bad for, and he could breathe a sigh of relief easily, without guilt.

Al looked down at his shoes, and then lifted his head just so he could catch a glimpse of that grin. And without waiting for a rational "Thank you," to come out of his mouth, he jumped foreword and pulled his arms around Edward's neck, hugging him tightly, and ignoring the fact he knew he probably was about as red as a cherry tomato. "Thank you," he finally said, like he had originally planned.

Ed stood there awkwardly for a moment, his hands clenched into the sides of his shirt, not returning the hug, but genuinely surprised at how outright the boy was being. He had to stop himself from wrapping his own arms around Al's waist and maybe giving him a tiny kiss on the cheek or-- Wait a second; a _kiss_? What in _gay hell _was he thinking? Seriously, it wasn't uncommon for male vampires to feed off of other males, but unlike feeding off of women, male vampires never had sex with the males they fed off of. It... Just wasn't done. That went double for him, because really, since when did he get crushes on boys who were complete pansies and wore neon green and pink kitty boxers? For God's sake, was he that juvenile?

_I really need to just get over him. He's only a kid! Isn't that a little like rape? That'd be odd, even for me._

But somewhere in the back of his head, he still couldn't fight off the impulse to just make a move. Though of course, he did eventually fight it off, because when Al pulled back, still smiling in his goofy way, Ed hadn't done anything. He had simply stood there, stone cold and staring. But the boy was completely unscathed by the lack of change in Ed's expression, and he let red overcome his face again, as he gazed about for a place to settle his eyes, and relieve the tension he felt in his chest.

"Um, anyway, I just wanted to thank you, I guess. It means a lot to me that you're willing to spare time for me to say goodbye to him," Al murmured in a low voice. "And to thank you, I won't ever try to run away again. I'll do exactly as you tell me to do." His bronze stare remained on the ground, and he felt his shoulders tremble. He wasn't sure what the reaction to the hug would be. All he knew was that the vampire hadn't said anything yet.

A gentle touch on the side of his face brought Alphonse into his shoes again, and he raised his head to see Edward smiling at him. A smile-- not a fake one, not a smirk, not a grin-- but a smile. Those bright yellow eyes traveled across Al's features, studying him. "It's fine. You'll do what you can. I can't ask for anything other than that." he said with finality, taking in a sharp breath and ruffling the kid's hair.

This was so strange. Why on earth was Ed being so nice to him? They had only met last night, and Al had the first impression that the elder hated his guts, but needed him nonetheless. So... where had this come from? Why this sudden onslaught of concern and affection? Even he himself had been becoming attached. _Please_, what was with him? He wasn't actually _falling_ for him, was he?

Stepping backward to escape any more damage to his already-messed-up hair, the younger man reevaluated his thoughts. There was no way he had a crush on this guy! He was a _GUY! _Plus he was the most insensitive, bossiest, aggressive piece of work that ever existed... In both the mortal world and the immortal. But, he had to admit to himself, Edward was incredibly good looking, and had a remarkable face that for some reason looked so vaguely familiar it was scary. Perhaps he had been in a dream of his? Aside from his amazing looks and all of that, there was something really sexy about how aggressive he was.

_Huh? Man, I must be a masochist. I need to get over him. This isn't healthy. He's so much more mature than I am._

Edward bumped his shoulder accidentally against Al's as he walked past him toward the boards of the exit. A "Sorry," was muttered somewhere in there, but it was hardly recognized. Those thoughts were still floating aimlessly about and were becoming somewhat of a hindrance. They were too enticing and tempting that he had to simply shove them aside, along with the silly notion that he actually had _feelings_ for this guy he just met. _Absurd is what it is_, he told himself, also ignoring the burning sensation that resided on his arm at the same place Ed had accidentally brushed past. He shivered.

Al watched as the man got on his stomach and army crawled through the opening beneath the bottom boards, the same way they had come the night before. This was a whole new ball game, a whole new night. It was time to begin their journey.

As soon as the vampire had made his way out of the other side, he called for the mortal to follow. Alphonse got on his hands and knees, slid onto his stomach, and used his feet to push him through the gap. The first thing he felt was cool air, and he instantly knew that he would _never _get used to this, as much as he told himself he had to.

But when he looked up and saw Ed extending a hand to help him to his feet, he thought that perhaps he would be helped along the way; not left stranded. When another smile joined the mess of expression on that pale face, Al was positive of it.

* * *

They reached the Bermington residence only a short while later. There was a faint light in the mid-area of the house, a signal to the mortal boy that dinner was just about over. Al knew Isaac's schedule inside and out-- that was how close they were. And he became positive of this fact when Isaac's bedroom light flickered on, and the illumination became visible from through the curtain.

Edward and Alphonse were both crouching down behind some bushes near the rear of the small mobile home, closest to the window in question. They had discussed some type of plan on this, but all that had turned up was just a simple goodbye, and nothing more. That was a little disappointing, but it wasn't something to be dwelled upon at this particular time.

A loud, booming sound came suddenly from the bedroom, and the harsh tunes of a 'Death Metal' band blasted out into the night, even through the glass on the window. It was music to Ed's ears, and he turned to Al with a grin. "Your friend has a pretty descent taste in music."

"Whatever. Are you coming, too?"

"You know I can't. I'm not allowed to enter a home without being invited by the owner," came the slightly saddened reply. It didn't even occur to Al that Ed had just come into his house without an invitation... in fact that was the furthest thing from his mind. What he didn't know is that it would come up in his brain later, and when it was most inconvenient. It was already pitch black out, not surprising-- it _was _winter, and during this season it always got dark from around 5 to 6. That was nice for Vampires.

Without responding, Alphonse got to his feet and tiptoed through the high grass that surrounded the mobile. Ms. Bermington had a knack for sensing movement outside, and that woman wouldn't think twice about pulling a shotgun on his ass. When he was finally next to the window, he squatted down again, pressing his ear against the glass. He could feel the steady pound of the bass of _Metallica _surge through him, and if he closed his eyes, he could picture Isaac jamming his 'air guitar' out, and crying out with the chords of each chorus, singing hard to the ragged music.

Gently, he rapped the pane of the barrier between them with the back of his knuckles. Al knew it wouldn't be heard through the jams, but he waited, nonetheless. That is, until Ed whispered urgently to him from back by the bushes.

"Get _on _with it! We don't have all night!"

Gulping, the younger man nodded, and turned back to the window, smacking his hand against it hard enough to shake the panes and make a small screw fall off the screen. It was then that the music dulled to a low roar, and the glass flew open, revealing a flushed kid, with black, messy hair and bright blue eyes. "Al? What are you doing here? Is... Something wrong?"

It took only a moment for Isaac to notice a third presence, and he immediately panicked. "Who's that? Why is he here, too?" His voice shook a little, and he was looking intently at Al for some reassurance before his blood pressure went through the roof.

Alphonse brought himself up to his feet again, slapping a hand over his best friend's mouth to silence him. "I'll explain in a moment. Let me inside." he demanded with a calm voice, and when he received a nod in response, he turned back to Ed to give him a look. "I won't be long. I promise." a smile followed after that, one to which Edward gave one back.

Isaac reached foreword and helped pull Al through. They had pulled this maneuver many times before, but never to this extent of urgency. Fumbling a little bit, the smaller boy clutched his hands into his friend's shirt, kicking off the ground and attempting to push himself up far enough. It wasn't even a high window, it was just Al didn't have very strong legs, and usually couldn't even make it in P.E.

At last, he got into the house, landing on top of Isaac in an awkward pile of tangled limbs. They were giggling though, and that made it okay. It stayed that way for a long moment, their arms and legs entwined in an embrace that had been almost entirely accidental. "I was so afraid I'd never see you again," Al whispered, keeping his eyes down. He knew there would be questions asked about that comment, but he truly didn't care. Chances were, he probably would never see the boy again anyway.

"What on earth do you mean? We just saw each other last night; it wasn't like we got into a fight. I only kissed you," Isaac said back defensively, stumbling up to get on his bed, and helping Al reach his footing, too.

Alphonse looked towards the window. He had been dreading this part of the day since he had awoken, and he knew that it was either now or never. He had to make a choice. If he didn't tell Isaac now, he never could. "He killed my mother. She's dead... my mother's dead." He felt warm trickles of tears spill down his cheeks, as he was standing again, feeling low, so very low. In honesty, he wasn't surprised when a sudden flash of aggression spread in the black haired boy, and he went stomping toward the window, with a look of sheer hatred burning on his thin face.

"What the hell! What kind of sick fuck have you--"

In a second nature movement, Al grabbed his wrist, and pulled him back. "Listen, you didn't let me finish," he said as he wiped the tears away with his sleeve. "There's a good reason why he did that. There's a good reason I'm with him right now, you just need to calm down and let me explain it to you. Otherwise, I have no point in being here."

That sat Isaac down, his large, azure eyes wide with the confusion that consumed him. He was so narrow-minded, Al noted, with minor disgust. "G-go ahead."

The younger man took that opportunity to explain exactly what had happened, and why he had this obligation to Edward now. The entire time, he watched as the expression on Isaac's face changed from confused, to mortified, to worried. Alphonse could see for sure that the words, 'Vampire?' was flashing through that strange, narrow brain of his.

After nearly ten minutes of explaining, Al was done, and he had begun crying all over again. When his friend had made the move to hug him, he had simply pushed the offer away, slightly disdainful and contemptuous towards life. There was a short silence after that, only small sniffs spread unevenly though it to cut that tension once in a while.

"So, your saying that he said he wouldn't kill you if you helped him?" Isaac finally asked, with a look of pure menace. He hated thinking his wonderful, sweet best friend was in danger. "That's insane. He's a VAMPIRE, Al. You can't trust him, you do know that, don't you?" This time, those words didn't come out with worry, they came out with jealousy so palpable it could be seen in the very oxygen used to form that sentence.

"Yes, I know that."

"And you're_ still _going to go along with this? Look, I've done some pretty stupid-shit things, but following a killer whose copout is 'Vampirism' is something even _I'm_ not stupid enough to do. Take my advice, and get out of it now."

Turning narrowed, bronze eyes toward him, Alphonse glared as hard and as daring as he could. He wasn't a naturally threatening person, and was usually known for being a pushover, so it was difficult to work up the proper amount of anger to produce an adequate evil glare. "You don't even know him." _Then again, I don't either, do I? _"I just came here tonight to say good bye. If I come back, I promise I'll come see you. But you do know that there's a possibility that I may not--"

Isaac pressed his hands to Al's shoulders and pushed him against the window. "You have to swear to me that you'll come back. That you wont abandon me. I... I don't want to be left alone again..." He slowly moved in for a kiss, and Al froze. What could he do? He was trapped.

But somewhere inside he felt like he owed this to Isaac. Ever since he was a little kid, his dad had been promising him that they would start a real relationship, and he wouldn't have to be without a father anymore. But every time those promises were made, they got broken. Then three or four years would pass, and Mr. Bermington would come back, smiling and acting like nothing had happened, making more empty promises, and building high hopes for both Isaac's mom and Isaac himself.

Alphonse couldn't abandon him even if he wanted. And so when the blue of his best friend's eyes disappeared, closing, he let himself give in, and let those lips gently touch his. Oh, how warm he was... And how kind those hands holding him were. It felt like he hadn't felt warmth in forever, and it was such a nice alternative to the feel of Edward's cold touch. As few and far between as those were.

"I wont abandon you. Am I the kind of person to do that?" he asked quietly, when they had pulled a little apart.

Isaac shook his head, and was beet red. "I-I love you, Al. I want you to be here with me, not with some Vampire poser, roaming the streets of distant cities. I want you to be here in my bed, telling me you love me, too." He looked like he was on the verge of tears, and that tugged a little on the heartstrings of the younger boy.

_Oh, God. What am I supposed to say? I don't love him in that way, but he thinks I do because I let him kiss me._

Abruptly, a small tapping from the window caught their attention. It was closest to Al, because he was still leaned up against it. Turning his head a little, he could see a pale hand holding onto the windowsill, motioning for him to come out. This had been exactly what he had needed. Alphonse looked back at the blue-eyed male, and smiled sadly. "I need to go. I have somewhere I need to be. Please take care of your mom and yourself. I'll come back to see you again."

Before the man could blink, Al was climbing out the window, whispering to someone. Isaac couldn't even manage a "Wait, Al!" In fact, he couldn't manage anything. He simply walked towards the opening, and gazed after the two retreating figures. He noticed that the other man was only an inch or two taller than Alphonse, but with long blonde hair, kept in the same pony-tail-like style that Al himself wore.

From the back they looked as though they were twins, the way they walked, and the set of their shoulders mixed with the very glow of them. Not only that, but the hair... Not the exact same color, but close enough.

But Isaac was far much more concerned about the lack of a response that he received. Did... Did Al not love him? Did he already have someone he had set his sights on? If so... who?

_I can make you love me, Alphonse Elric. And I promise you; I won't stop until I do._

End Chapter 3

* * *

**Closing Notes: **_Yeah, that wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. I sort of cut off half of the chapter, because I knew it would get too long. Anyway, about Isaac-- this is definitely not the last you'll see of him. He has a very significant role in this story, and a good purpose, too. Though, this is the last of any IsaacxAl fluff. From here on out, it's Elricest, all the way. :hearts: _


	4. Isolation

**Author's Notes: **_Hoorah for chapter four! Hopefully I'll get to do what I set out to accomplish in this chapter. To tell you guys the truth, the first two chapters sucked in my opinion. But I'm starting to see myself mature as a writer with each chapter I write. The third chapter was a little bit of an indication of that to me. I recently went to the library and printed off all of my stories, including all of Era of Confusion, and 'Everything.' I'm noticing that the writing is slowly progressing in maturity._

**Warnings: **_Now that my ranting is done, I can get to my warnings. Angst, Horror, Gore, Language, Violence, Death, Vampirism, Elricest -somewhere in there- and abuse. Alas, I'm lacking the right motivation. I know where I'm heading, but not how I'm gonna get there. :sigh:_

* * *

Life was heavy. Death was heavier.

That was something Edward had come to realize in his time being one of the undead. He was starting to comprehend just what it was like to know that he was no longer able to feel the sunlight on his skin, or to watch it reflect in a vast pool of water like a lake or a pond. Those were the things he missed, _honestly missed _about being human.

He had time to contemplate this in the time that Al was inside Isaac's house, speaking with him. On his haunches behind those sticker bushes, he had quite a few long moments to think on this, and was slowly beginning to see how very fortunate Al was to still be able to live in sunlight. To be unafraid, and to be wholesome-- unmarred.

And now, as they were walking away from that small mobile home, Ed couldn't help but look at his companion and feel somewhat envious. If there was anything he wanted from Al, it was his mortality. He would gladly give up being immortal for just one day of life in the sun again. Oh, how wondrous that would be.

They walked in silence, because Edward could tell that the other male obviously had something or another on his mind. Something that was troubling him. It was best though if he didn't interfere; he wasn't much good as far as giving advice. And if anyone needed advice, it was he himself. He was confused about the future just as much as anyone else. He needed that guidance, needed it desperately.

_Someone tell me where to go. Someone show me whom to trust. Someone carry me from this... _

He felt pathetic. He shouldn't be asking for help! He should be _giving _it.

When they had walked about a block and a half, the silence was becoming irritating. The noise of after-work traffic was buzzing merrily in their ears like a bad song you can't get stuck out of your head, and that alone made the need to speak that much more urgent.

"Are you satisfied with how things turned out? What I mean is, did the good bye come out the way you intended it?" Ed finally asked, his hands behind his head, and his gaze focused on some distant building. It was easy for him to look preoccupied-- half the time he _was. _

Alphonse was lost in thought, deep inside his own mind. So when Edward spoke to him, it made him jump a little and his heart thumped quickly in his chest. He had only heard half of the sentence, and he felt guilty for not listening better. "Ah! Y-yes. I think it went fine." he opted to stay away from the fact that Isaac had kissed him, thinking that perhaps the vampire would have something snotty to say about it.

_It's bad enough he thinks I'm gay. I don't need him knowing it could be a possibility. _He shook his head. But it wasn't a possibility! He... didn't like guys. He cast a quick glance toward Ed, and felt his cheeks flare up. _No, No, NO. You do NOT like him. He's... arrogant, bossy, self-righteous, not to mention---_

_**Perfect. **_

"NO! He's NOT." the words spilled out of his mouth as though he had meant for them to. And instantly he received an awkward look from the vampire. "Eh... sorry. I was talking to myself." Al's cheeks were even redder now, and he wanted to shove his face into something to hide that fact.

Edward rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yeah. So, do you think you'll ever change your mind? About being with Isaac?"

_Why does he want to know so badly?_

"I think that it's none of your business. Leave it _alone_, okay!" Alphonse snapped harshly. He hated being prodded for information, and just to avoid the conversation, he sped up and walked ahead so that he wouldn't have to endure the damn ridicule.

... he needed to breathe.

* * *

"Ack! I just remembered! I left my back pack where I was when I ran from you!" Al said about a half an hour later, turning around to look at Edward. That pissed him off; how on earth had he been so distracted when running to just... forget? Had he really been that spirited about getting away? As it turned out, there really wasn't anything he had to be afraid of.

Ed looked at him with a sort of weary expression- he looked tired. "Well, if you would've just taken a chill pill and not spazzed out like you did, maybe you could still have your backpack." he replied with a tone of reproval. He was beginning to feel like Al's mother, rather then the man who could potentially kill him. He didn't even want to think of the killing part-- he was just beginning to feel a sort of friendship with the other male.

A heavy guilty feeling fell on the mortal with a sort of sharp twist. There hadn't been any doubt; he had jumped to conclusions the night before, thinking the worst of Ed. If he had only been more logical, he would've realized that if the intention had been to kill him it would have already happened. He needed to start trusting Ed, for both Ed's sake, and his own. It would be the most effective way to get this whole ordeal over with before too much happened. Al didn't even know what he was supposed to be helping the man with; he never was told what he was expected to do or why Edward was in trouble in the first place. In fact, Al didn't know _anything _about the vampire, other than the miniscule details of his life he'd given so far.

Things like how he never knew his mother or how he didn't have many memories of what happened before hand. _He's just like me... we're just alike. I can't remember things that well, either. I don't remember my father, or anything... Mom made me forget, I think. She didn't want it to hurt anymore then things already did. She knew how much it hurt me for her doing drugs. But... not enough to make her quit._

The look on Al's face told Ed that the boy was in deep thought, and was contemplating something serious that was close to home for him. They had long since stopped walking, and they had already made it out of the town where the younger of them had lived his entire life, and were headed to the place Ed had been living in his afterlife. They were on a back road, passing by lots of fields and farmlands and though it was cold and dark, in the distance large farm houses could be seen with lights on and cows and horses were heard in the fields they passed. Other than that, these lands were completely desolate and the one or two cars that passed every ten or so minutes would seem like ghost cars.

Not a lot of travel was done between the two towns. Al's town was really too big to be considered a town, so they simply called it Elay City. And the smaller and older town that was their destination (And Ed's home) was named Rochester. It had lots of large Victorian Era houses that Al had seen when he went with Isaac and his mom to their county fair that was held annually. It was an older town, and lots of the people there hadn't seen much else. It was very isolated; an additional reason that the Vampire wanted to live there.

It took a good minute for Alphonse to realize that his companion had begun walking already, probably dull waiting for him to say something. There were still so many questions to be answered, and mysteries to be solved, and only half of those were presently thought up. More questions would arise, unbeknownst to the two of them. Al wouldn't be the only one with questions-- soon, Ed would be the one bitterly confused about the things they were set to encounter. It was all going to be one large chess game... and they played the deadliest role; the Pawns.

The night wore on, mind numbingly slow. They probably walked a little over 20 or 30 miles in the time they spent on the off roads. Easily, if they had a car, they could've breezed right through this. But getting a car required _stealing _one, and neither of them wanted to do something so idiotic. They were boys, but they weren't _that _dumb.

After about ten or eleven o'clock hit, they could see the faint glow of lights over a large slope of grass that radiated from a town.

Rochester.

It was then, after hours of silence, that Ed finally nudged Al in the side, pointing to the distant place. "There it is; just over that hill is my home," he explained happily, gold eyes excited and anxious all at once. It felt like it had been forever since he'd been back home. And even though _she _was there waiting for him, he was still overjoyed that he could sleep easily again, back in his house and away from the outsiders. _Damn_, that was a good feeling.

The road wound up over that hill the vampire had been talking about, and as their feet passed over it, and Rochester came into view, the sight was simply breathtaking.

Huge houses surrounded the whole vicinity, outlining a wonderfully enchanting town that ached and smelled of culture- rich with old, rural history, and a sense of home that Elay City couldn't compare or measure up to in a million years. This place held real families, real homes, real people whose dreams outlived and stretched farther than those of the people in Al's home city. Rochester was an amazing collage of unexplainable mystery and it had a certain glow about it that was radiating the feeling of acceptance and love- but also a dark past and something oddly forlorn. It was certainly clear why Edward would choose to live here.

Of course, Alphonse had seen Rochester before, but never had it looked this way. It was so uplifting to see it in all its glory that it ebbed away the tension that had been carried with him, and left him with a fond, admiring smile as he stood with his new friend atop the hill gazing at the beauty of such a simple thing.

"Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, it is." It was the only thing Al could manage in response, because his breath had suddenly ceased and all that was left was that out-of-place admiration and envy he felt. If only he had lived in a place as wondrous as this, maybe his father would've stayed, and maybe his mother wouldn't have turned and relied so heavily on drugs. That thought saddened him, as it always did, and he tried to force himself to think of something else, something happier. "Where's your house?"

Edward grinned with a look of satisfaction at the pride he took in his hometown. "Down there," and he pointed toward a small mass of older houses, all large and broody looking. Of course, they were still on a hill, so exactly which house he was pointing at was indiscernible at this point, but that didn't matter; all the houses in Rochester were suitable. It was a town where money didn't mean stature-- love did.

"Just what in the world are you doing in a place like this," Al said softly, his eyes searching the town sadly. "It doesn't suit your character at all. You don't have the type of morals or values these people do. You're a vampire!" And he turned quickly with his teeth bared to attempt to glare at the older man, but failed miserably when he noticed a gloomy, eerie, distant smile on those thin lips.

Ed didn't speak for a moment, just continued looking at the town as Al had. He was considering those words, and thinking perhaps a bit too much on them. But if he were honest with himself-- which he rarely ever was-- he'd realize that the mortal was absolutely right. He didn't deserve to live in a place where his namesake was trusted, or his face was the face of an almost-saint. He had earned the admiration of people there, and before long he was going to have to break that trust; he couldn't live forever without food. That was when he'd take his leave to the next town, and so on after that. It was something he hated, but was his way of life. It was the reason the only friends he had, or cared to keep, were the ones who were just like him.

Then, without even responding, Ed trudged down the hill, waving his hand to motion for Alphonse to follow him. Rocks and dirt slipped underneath him, but he didn't want to walk on the road anymore. The hard feel of the concrete was killing his feet. He could hear Al struggling to keep up, and once or twice losing his balance, but he wasn't too worried. The kid had a pretty good handle on things; he could take care of himself. Almost.

The landscape evened out again after a moment or so of sliding down that slope, and Al was glad when it did because he was sick of accidentally landing on his rump and scraping his elbows. Already his whole backside was covered in dirt, and his hair was messed up and half falling out of the hair band it was held back with. His bangs stuck to his face with sweat, and his limbs felt tired. They had been walking all night, and he was ready to get into bed and sleep. He could tell that Ed was, too.

There were two lampposts on either side of the road by the entrance to the town. A large sign on the left of them read, "Welcome to Rochester! Home of the Rochester Apple Festival!" the same festival that Al had gone to with Isaac.

He didn't look at the sign.

Instead, what caught his attention was a small booth looking thing that sat next to the first building in the town. There was no one in it, and it looked creepy sitting there by itself. Edward was a couple yards in front of him, and he stopped in front of the booth, sliding open a glass window and peaking his head inside. Al stopped to watch intently.

Ed reached in as far as he could, and grabbed a slip of paper off the back wall. The side of the booth had a door, but apparently it was locked, otherwise he wouldn't have been using the window. His feet were off the ground; that was how far he was leaning in to get whatever it was he was trying to get. The paper dropped to the floor helplessly, and he grunted in displeasure. Trying again, this time he managed to grasp a hold of another of the same paper, clenching it tightly in his hand before withdrawing and settling himself back on the ground.

The mortal caught up with him, and glanced over his shoulder with interest.

The paper looked like a newspaper. There was a headline reading, 'Report of a Woman's Death in Elay City' and below it was an article explaining everything about it. The first line read, 'Cause of death is still unknown, but suspected foul play was induced upon her death. The victim's mouth was badly bruised, and vague puncture wounds were found on her neck. Autopsy specialists still haven't found what the total cause of her death was, but after a thorough analysis, conclusions of drug usage were found. The time of the death was estimated around...'

Alphonse stepped back, a horrified look on his face. His heart thumped loudly in his chest, and he felt his stomach muscles tighten in absolute agony. _How had they found her already? _

" 'Signs point to the victim (Name stated as Trisha Elric) having a son around the age of seventeen (Name cited to be Alphonse Elric), with long dirty blonde hair and bronzy-silver eyes with a lean build. Victim's son not yet found, but police are scattering and searching the area in Elay City for any signs of him. He's suspected as the first murderer of the victim, his mother. If you have seen him or may know where he is, please call the number at the bottom of this article... ' " Edward's voice filled the night air, and sent a cold chill running down Al's spine, mercilessly. He had quoted about half the news article, and none of the information was very comforting.

In fact, it was so unpleasant that Al had crossed his arms over his stomach, an elbow cupped in each hand, shivering involuntarily. His perfect teeth gnawed nervously at his bottom lip, and he couldn't help but let his eyes well up with unshed tears. "You forgot to get rid of her body. I can't believe we didn't think about it. . ." he murmured quiet enough to be a whisper. But that question remained-- how had they found her body so soon? They couldn't have, unless Isaac...? He shook his head.

_No, Isaac wouldn't do that. I told him we needed to lay low, and it seemed as though he understood. Besides, he's my best friend. It had to have been someone else. . . But who?_

"Hey, listen to this," Ed said suddenly, grabbing the boy's attention again. His eyes were fixed on the page with misplaced curiosity, and his eyebrows were furrowed. " 'This case was reported by a source that asks to remain anonymous.' Doesn't that seem a little fishy? I mean, you don't think your friend could have told anyone, do you?" he asked, turning around to face Al, the paper held in his hand at his side.

Shaking his head, Alphonse sighed. "No, I don't think so. He cares about me too much to do that." His eyes were down turned, but Ed could still see embarrassment mingled with regret on those young features. It stirred something unfamiliar inside of him.

Not really believing that notion, though, the blonde shrugged passively and looked at the newspaper again. "I don't think it could've been the ones who are after me. They don't know I was in your city, unless... they found out. But I don't see how that could happen. Right now, Isaac is our only suspect. But it doesn't matter much. You're in another city; no one will find you here."

A large _THWAP _noise was heard when Al's hand collided with the back of Ed's head in an annoyed manner. "What are you, an idiot? Of _course _someone could find me here! The newspaper was here, wasn't it? That means they'll have missing signs up for me in this town, too! Don't you see? Because of you I'm a wanted criminal now!" Al's voice was hoarse and raspy from the cold, but he trembled like crazy with the anger inside of him. _Aghh_, it pissed him off so much that he had been pulled into this crazy mess!

Muttering a soft 'Ouch', Edward rubbed subconsciously at the back of his head, and through one open gold eye glared lazily at the younger boy. "Look, people here trust me. They'd never think I'd be harboring a wanted criminal in my house. And besides, the girl I live with will help out, too. She's kind of like a miracle worker around here. You'll be fine, just relax, okay? And anyway you're with a vampire, remember? I wont let anything happen to you. Ultimately, I hold all the cards in this game." But what he didn't know is that he couldn't have been more wrong.

But for now, it got Al to sigh and nod his head in forced agreement. What could he say, anyway? He had no idea what the hell was happening to him. It felt as though he were being ripped away form everything he had seen the world as for all the 17 years of his life, and all of a sudden in two days everything was upside down and the rules had shifted and changed beneath him. "So you're saying you wont let me become jail fodder? Because from where I am right now, that's where it looks like I'm headed."

Patting Alphonse on the head fondly, Ed grinned his usual over-confident grin. "Don't worry about it! Sheesh, you're so paranoid! And if need be, we can always disguise you. A hair cut wouldn't do much harm. . ." and those golden orbs went straight to the long locks of hair that Al possessed, his grin becoming a smirk and his fingers making scissoring motions in a teasing way.

"You've got to be kidding! It took me my whole life to grow my hair out this long! There's no way I'm cutting it!" Al jumped back, protectively touching his hair. If there was anything he'd fight to protect, it was his freedom and God-given right to have his beautiful long hair. Besides, he liked looking like Ed. It made him feel like he belonged here. "If anything we should cut _your _hair," he shot back, smirking just as the other had.

Edward made the same shocked face that Al had, but threw it off and tried his best to look threatening. He didn't have to try too hard-- he was a vampire after all. "You're fucking crazy, brat. I've had long hair for as long as I can remember, and just why the hell should I break the tradition now? You're out of your mind." He turned away indignantly and crossed his arms across his chest, eyes narrowed.

Al simply smiled. "There you go. We both love our long hair, and _neither _of us are going to cut it. If I have to make a sacrifice, you have to make a sacrifice. I'm not doing _anything_ if you don't. Simple as that." He was very proud of himself, not only because of his logical reasoning, but also at his witty-ness and the backbone he was slowly gaining.

_Touché. _Ed thought, rolling his eyes. He hated it when he was wrong-- it meant that someone else was right.

But almost suddenly, there was an abrupt change in the winds of conversation, and Alphonse's voice was taken and molded with surprise and confusion. "Wait a minute-- You live with someone?" It had been late, but for some reason it had only just hit him that Edward had said that.

_And besides, the girl I live with will help out, too. She's kind of like a miracle worker around here._

"Are you _just now_ realizing I said that? Damn, Al, you ARE slow!" shaking his head in annoyance and turning back around to look at his younger friend, Ed's hands instantly went to his hips. "You need to start paying attention, because if something happens and I give you directions you won't know what to do! And who pays then? Who?" Again, that maternal feeling washed over him, and he felt the anger drift away of its own accord, and his face soften from the irritated look into a small pout. He didn't especially like getting mad, or yelling for that matter, but he was really only doing this to keep his companion safe.

Taken aback for the second time, Al stepped back a step, feeling bad about making the vampire aggravated. He just couldn't win! "I pay," he replied gently, eyes still full of the tears he hadn't cried yet. He didn't plan on crying anyway; it made him feel weak, which was definitely something he didn't like to feel in front of Ed. Sighing, he tried to put on a smile. "Can we just go? If you have a friend, I'd like to meet her, if it's okay."

"You don't exactly have a choice," Edward muttered crossly. The good mood he had felt moments before had tanked down somewhere low. Sometimes it didn't surprise him how fast he could turn on a dime-- it was like vampires suffered severe bipolar disorder, and he got the worst of it. He began walking once more, entering through the large archway that followed the toll-booth/information stand and Al followed like a puppy.

Inside the town, there were still some people closing up stores and bars were just opening, alive with the bustle of the night. Even in a town, parties still occurred. For a moment, the younger man thought that the other would want to go into one of those bars, but when Ed's eyes were focused on a distant area away from them, he could tell that their destination was still home. The streets were hardly over-crowded; quite the contrary to Elay. This new, smaller place was so much nicer without the pollution and bad attitudes of city dwellers.

They walked along the sidewalk, Alphonse stopping every now and then to gaze inside a window of a club or a small closing store. His curious bronze eyes traveled along, looking at all the marvels of small town life. The clubs looked just as lively as the ones in his city, but for some reason there was something a little more innocent about them- something not so rushed and vivacious and animated as the clubs he'd seen and heard of. Tagging along quite slowly, Al lost his way a few times, but caught up after a moment.

They were going on a back street now, away from the town center and downtown, and back to the 'Old District,' as Ed had put it. Back where they kept the older, extravagant homes for the well-endowed and rich people. It was a private section where the Victorian houses were kept, and they were just as marvelous as what Al had imagined. Because when they got there, his breath was stolen all over again.

Edward's house was so very large and old that it nearly seemed to be singled out from the others. In all, it was probably about three or four stories high, with twelve bedrooms, and the works. It wasn't large enough to be called a mansion, but not small enough to call it a house. It was a manor-- huge, hauntingly beautiful, and very, very vampiric. It emitted the look of classic vampire folklore, just as Al had suspected. The front doors were massive, black French doors that had a gargoyle knocker and brass knobs. Windows were surrounding all over the sidewalls of the house and in the front too, but it was clear that they either had black curtains on them or some kind of boards.

One small light was on, however, in the first story window all the way to the left, as could be seen when the light filtered in through the cracks.

All Alphonse could do was just stare incredulously at the manor in front of him, and admire its Gothic structure and beauty that would've been surpassed by so many passers by. But no, not he. Not he. He was the type of person to look beyond rough exteriors and see through to the core of the artwork. And this manor was, indeed, a piece of artwork. "Amazing. . ." he whispered thoughtfully, his eyes wide with subtle dumbfounded ness.

"Well, let's go inside then? Okay?" without waiting for a reply, Ed was already walking briskly over the huge stone steps, with grace only the owner of the house could have, and pulling out a key from his rear pocket. Inserting it in the brass keyhole, he turned, wiggled it, and opened the French door with a loud, ominous creak that only a vampire's home would have.

The second the door opened, Al could feel darkness exude out at him; everything that made up Edward's character was held tight within the ancient walls of that place, and he felt a slight churn in his lower tummy in anticipation.

The vampire had already entered the home, and so Al ran up the steps, following him. He tripped a little on the wet leaves on the stone, and he fell hard on his stomach, hands clinging tightly to the steps. But he cast aside his minute indiscretion and got to his feet, skipping the last step and running inside after the man.

The first thing he saw was a flash of harvest blonde hair, and a slender body and a girlish voice.

He stopped in the doorway and observed what must've been the girl Ed had been talking about, hugging said boy close.

"Don't you ever leave again without telling me where you were going! I was worried sick! What if they had found you? I would've never known!" she yelled at him harshly, pulling away a bit, her hands digging into his shoulders in a motherly sense.

"Listen, woman, back off! You're not my God-damn mother, you bi--"

"Excuse me? I'm the closest thing you have! And respect your elders, you twerp!"

"Are you trying to _imply _something by the word 'Twerp?' Maybe that I'm SHORT!"

A giggle followed that, and a swish of hair over the shoulder. "Of _course _not, Ed. Who could ever accuse you of being short? Why, everyone knows you're the tallest person in town!" The sarcasm was so heavy and sugary in that sentence it made Al cringe just hearing it.

"You better watch it, Winry. I can kick you out of here so fast your-- "

Alphonse coughed a little to interject his presence before things got anymore out of hand. All the arguing stopped, and the girl turned around, her face obviously pleasantly surprised at the attendance of the mortal. That was made clear when she grinned happily, her fangs quite bright and brutal looking as she looked at him with interest that was to be rivaled. "Ed, you didn't tell me we had _company_. . ."

There was something he didn't like about the way she said 'company.'

Edward walked over to his friend, placing an arm around his shoulders casually. (Little did he know that it caused Al slight discomfort, and a small twist in his insides.) "Al, this is Winry Rockbell-- my best friend ever, and the world's most annoying female vampire. Winry, this is Alphonse Elric. He's going to be, well, you _know_." Golden eyes flashed hesitantly over to the blonde girl, and he offered a sly smile.

Where as Al smiled shyly, waving with vacillation at the pretty girl who had looked so menacing a moment before.

"Oh, Edward! He's absolutely adorable! Don't tell me you've claimed him already, because I certainly wouldn't mind getting a piece of that!" Winry's face was positively alight with pleasure, the cerulean in her eyes shimmering hungrily.

That was when Ed shook his head disapprovingly, and pulled the boy a bit closer in a subconscious sort of protective sense. "No, I haven't claimed him. But that means you can't either. This one needs to stay human. For. . . those _reasons_ we talked about before, right?" he nodded at her, and she nodded back with understanding.

A slender, pale hand with crimson fingernails came foreword and brushed the loose hair out of Al's face, almost lovingly. "Hey, sweetie! Wow, you're just the cutest human I've ever seen," her voice was hushed with happiness, and she was most certainly sincere about what she was saying.

Alphonse felt his face flush darkly in embarrassment, as her fingers gently put a few excess strands of hair behind his ear with care. "Th-thank you. You're pretty, too." And he tried to smile at that, but it turned out to look more like a wayward grimace.

Winry didn't notice.

* * *

She had very large breasts.

That was the first thing that Al had really noticed about Winry Rockbell when the three of them sat down for dinner at around two o'clock. In fact, they were so large and swelling that it seemed as though her shirt would burst if they grew even a centimeter more. They were round and firm looking, and every time he'd look up he'd notice the way they would jiggle or press tightly to the white, lacey blouse she wore. It was making him increasingly uncomfortable, and he shifted in his seat, poking with a fork at the piece of steak on his blue and white plate.

Ed's steak was very, very rare. So rare that it was still mooing. The blood ran out all across the fine china, and a bit of it dribbled down his chin as he ate at it with the ferocity of an animal. He and Winry couldn't feed off of people from this town; thus they were forced to eat cow's blood from nearly raw steak. It did them well for a while, until they couldn't handle it anymore. That's when they would venture off -- Like Ed had -- to a different town to find a meal.

It was rather unappetizing watching Edward tear at his steak with his animalistic eating habits and his gnashing of the teeth at the barely cooked meat. In fact, it was so barely cooked, it was almost as though it had just been run through a warm room. But he was satisfied, and gulping up the meat hungrily and quickly, looking as though it weren't quenching his inhuman thirst, but causing him to be thoroughly sated all the same. When he was done with the meat, he lifted the plate to his lips and downed all of the blood that ran freely.

Al watched with fascination as the male's Adam's apple made strange movements in the hallow of his neck while the sweet liquid slipped down his throat. If he looked close enough, it was as though the veins in that perfect neck seemed to expand with the fluid they were being filled with, and the cold, dead look of Ed's skin seemed to ebb away, and a faint rosy color took its place.

Winry, on the other hand, ate her food with disdain and a noncommittal sigh would escape her lips occasionally between bites. She evidently had no problem taking her time when it came to satisfaction. That was good-- it showed how much self-control she had, where as Ed had the eyes of a wild beast, and a drive to match it. He had no self-control whatsoever.

After watching the two of them for countless minutes, and sitting in silence all the while, Alphonse felt his stomach ache with disgust, but also hunger. But after the display, he didn't feel much like eating. Just how long had it been since he had eaten anyway? A day? Two?

Picking up his knife, he cut away a miniscule bite of steak off from the larger portion, and examined it closely for any signs of non-cooked ness. It looked fine, because he was, after all, a human. Placing it in his mouth daintily, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine something that wouldn't make him sick. (Edward still hadn't cleaned up his mouth and jaw from his little feeding frenzy from before.)

The only thing that arose into his thinking pattern was the last look he had seen on Isaac's face before he had left him. And that didn't help at all. In fact, it made him lose his appetite even more than before. But he swallowed half-heartedly, bronze eyes opening with sadness. It was then that he realized that both blondes had been watching him with curious eyes, and faint smiles.

"S-sorry," Al said with discomfort. He shifted again in the chair, his legs restless and tired at the same time. He couldn't eat. His stomach wouldn't let him. Nothing sounded good, certainly nothing looked good, either. He grimaced again, hands clenching nervously into the tablecloth's rim, and for some reason tears began to form in his eyes. Slowly, they fell down his cheeks and in a moment he was sobbing into his arms, the plate pushed away, blood sloshing miserably out the side onto the stunning bright linen that covered the surface.

Winry dropped her fork and walked around the table to his side, placing an abnormally warm hand onto his trembling shoulder.

Edward bit the inside of his cheek in mild frustration, and fingered his steak knife in an anti-social sort of way. He wasn't especially good at making people feel better as affection wasn't his strong point. In fact, that was why he had had a hard time with consoling the boy the night of his mother's death. He simply wasn't emotionally equipped for caring for someone; let alone a whiny little mortal who burst out in tears at any random time.

"I-I'm so sorry," Al repeated again, weeping softly in his clothed arms, feeling as though all of his confidence had been shredded away piece by pathetic piece. "I just don't know what to do! I have no idea what I'm doing here, or why I'm even alive anymore. I don't have any reason to be alive when my mother is dead, and my best friend is alone," he mumbled, sniveling and trying his hardest to be strong.

It wasn't working.

That light hand on his shoulder rubbed soothing circles into the tense muscles and Winry's voice was calm and gentle and caring. "It's alright, sweetie," she cooed in a relaxing tone, cerulean eyes deep and thoughtful. "Believe me, I know what it's like to be in your situation where nothing feels like normal anymore and everything is surreal and eccentric. Things get like that sometimes when you're with vampires. It'll get better, Al. I promise!" She smiled and hugged him tightly around his top half in a motherly sort-of embrace.

It was right then that Alphonse decided that he liked Winry very much. _Then, _when he decided with half-hearted happiness, that she was a good vampire. A good soul. He could trust her with everything, and that was made clear right then, no extra encouragement needed. There was just something confident and assuring about her that let him know that she could be trusted and she _wasn't _fake.

He liked that feeling. It was something that Ed lacked, but might soon inherit from his friend. Al hoped. He longed to be able to trust Ed like he now felt he could trust Winry. But those thoughts were kept private, and the pain in his heart was still throbbing from before, but fortunately his crying and sniffing had dulled down to a minimal sniff now and then, and he rubbed roughly at his eyes attempting to dry them.

When his bronze eyes looked up again, Edward was busy cleaning off the table, placing the plates into the sink along with empty wine glasses the two vampires were drinking out of that still had the after residue of alcohol settled around the dip at the bottom. He watched for a moment, and Winry's touch faded away as she helped him out by collecting the remaining, unused silver wear and taking Al's still-full plate. He regretted not finishing his meal, but there wasn't anyway he could have. All that was left of his appetite was gone, even though the hunger aches were still there. He was hungry, but desired no food.

Sniffing once more, he dabbed at his eyelids again with his sleeve, getting up and blowing out the short vanilla candles whose wicks had somehow become increasingly undersized since the meal began.

At once Winry began working at the dishes, scrubbing them in the way that the mother of the house would, azure eyes focused intently on the task at hand. Al noticed Ed about to leave the kitchen, but stopping short he turned towards the mortal with tired eyes. "I'll show you where your room is, and the other rooms on the next few floors."

Downstairs was obviously the largest portion of the house, with a humungous living room and family room and dining room (That was never used) and a kitchen with a wrap-around marble counter and black cupboards and refrigerator slash freezer and a good-sized oak table off in the right corner where they had eaten dinner.

Later, upstairs Ed showed Al the second floor which held a library, a study which was more like an office with an outdated computer and several filing cabinets in it, and two fairly big bedrooms, both with attached bathrooms. The second floor was pretty blah, but Al liked the library from what he'd seen of it.

Row upon row of books on ceiling high shelves with desks in every far corner of the room, and categorized sections for different books. It looked mysterious and musky and very old-fashioned, but maybe that was what appealed to the young man. He loved things like that.

The third floor was made up of what Edward called 'The Party Floor.' He explained as they went through each room that this was the floor that the parties were held when he and Winry would entertain. Which would be during Halloween or Christmas time; the only holidays they cared to entertain during. Christmas wasn't as special, but Halloween was their favorite-- It was the only holiday where they could be themselves for an entire 24 hours. Of course, most of those hours were spent sleeping, but for the remainder of the evening they were free to act like they did 365 days a year, and Ed told him that was the most precious part of the whole Holiday.

That third floor was such a party floor that it still had torn streamers and banners and confetti lying in some of the rooms and some places still hadn't been cleaned from previous parties; there were beer bottles and stained carpets and overturned couches all over the entire third floor. It was almost sickening, but Ed said that the two of them hardly ever went past the second floor anyway.

That left the fourth floor, which half of was the attic. The attic, the vampire explained, was never to be gone into. "You just don't want to do that. Trust me." He had advised with a mild tone of bitterness. All that was left on that floor was about five different rooms, where Al was told the guests stayed if they ever had any company. Which they never did.

Basically, the over-all conclusion Alphonse got about the manor was that over half of it wasn't even being used. It was just a huge mass of empty space that someone or something needed to fill.

After the tour was over, they stood at the top of the stairs on the fourth floor in silence, listening to the howling autumn wind brush against the houses frail walls. It was eerie, especially in a place like this. You could hear the house settling in the night, it's inhabitants still very much awake though.

"Where do I sleep?" Al asked at long last, the noiselessness getting the best of him.

"The second floor," Ed answered promptly afterwards. But there was something strange about the way he said it. Like he didn't want it to be true or something. Also, his tone had left an unsure wring in the air.

"And?"

"That's all."

"It doesn't seem like it. Are you sure--"

"_I said_ that's all." Golden eyes rose defensively, and Al knew he needed to stop prying. But after a second or two more, Edward sighed and shook his head, leaning against the banister with casual yet strained easiness. "I know I promised you I'd tell you everything you wanted to know when we got here, but I lied. I can't tell you everything you want to know, but I can tell you everything you _need _to know. We're not in danger until we leave this house. Just remember that."

And he turned to start heading back down the long length of stairs that went in a spiral, but Al's shaking hand on his arm brought him right back. "No, wait. When can you tell me? When can you tell me what I 'need' to know?" he asked worriedly.

Smiling in his same forlorn and lost way, Ed sighed again. "Tomorrow. I'll tell you tomorrow night after I've had a good day's sleep. Okay? C'mon, I'll show you your room."

Choosing not to argue anymore, Al nodded and followed the vampire down the stairs keeping close to him. Despite the mundane duties he had to engage in everyday (i.e. Drinking blood), Ed still smelled really good. He smelled of candles and incense and sensuality and musk. And like a fresh coffin. That sent shivers up the younger boy's back, but he held closer to him as they descended the stairs, passing the third floor.

(Somewhere in the back of his mind, Al thought that maybe it'd be good to install an elevator in such a huge house.)

He took in a deep breath, wanting to catch that smell again but failing when the vampire would move away a little bit subconsciously. Eventually he gave up and continued walking in his footsteps.

That smell never left his memory.

* * *

At 5:30 in the morning the mortal boy collapsed onto his freshly made bed. His muscles ached and were clenched tightly and he needed a lifetime's worth of sleep to refurbish all the lost energy of that night. Walking for hours on end had killed his feet as he soon found out when he took off his tight little black Converse, and peeled off his dirty socks that stuck to his feet with sweat and revealed fresh blisters. The skin had already begun breaking away, showing pink skin that looked nearly white because of the newness of the wounds. They stung and ached horribly when he curled and uncurled his toes trying to work feeling back into them.

He hadn't even gotten a shower yet, but he was far too exhausted for one at this point. The next night, for sure, he would get one. His hair was still matted down with perspiration and dirt, and he had long since given up on his hair-tie. It had been taken out ages ago, and now his hair hung limply around his shoulders and halfway down his narrow back.

Winry had put clean sheets on the bed, because when the three of them had opened the guest bedroom's door on the second floor and pulled back the sheets of the bed, a nauseating cloud of dust had floated up from the blankets. That was when the girl decided that it might be best if that bedspread was just discarded entirely. Besides, Ed had pitched a fit.

_No Goddamn guest of mine will be sleeping on a dirty bed! _

Alphonse had to admit that it flattered him slightly to be catered on in such a way, but hey, Ed owed it to him. He was helping him out, right? The least he deserved was clean sheets to sleep in. These ones smelled like linen, fresh clean linen just out of the dryer.

Lying back on the bed, his dirty hair splaying across the pillow, Al tucked his hands behind his head, reclining uncomfortably. He felt agonizingly pained, and winced once or twice when he attempted to pop his back. Nothing functioned right. Part of that also came from sleeping on a stone floor the previous night, killing his once-proper-working body parts.

Trying to ignore the pain, he concentrated on the voices he heard from downstairs. He could hear Ed's voice, husky, worn, and tired filtering up from down there. He and Winry were discussing something or another, because they didn't have to be in bed till around 6:30. Al had just been too tired to stay up any later. His eyes felt heavy, and he thought that if he had to walk another step he might fall apart permanently.

When the voices became dulled and he couldn't decipher syllables any longer, he began staring at the ceiling. A fly flew past him, and his bronze eyes observed it. It landed once on the curtain of the boarded up window (He distantly wondered why a boarded up window would need a curtain anyway) and then flew away again. The fly landed in several different spots, before flying up higher and landing into a spider's web.

Al cringed, foreseeing the next movement.

Alas, he was right. A moderately sized Daddy-Long-Legs crawled forth from beneath the panel of the corner, slowly at first, watching its prey with hungry, vicious eyes. He could've sworn that he saw saliva frothing from the spider's fangs. It made him twitch unnervingly, shifting a little on the bed, but stopping when pain twinged up his spine. Instead he continued watching through nervous eyes.

The fly writhed and wriggled with every ounce of its pathetic life, attempting to free itself through the sticky, clinging web. It tried so hard, in fact, that it could've brought the human to tears. That indomitable need to live was crying out in every movement that fly made. Al could see the web shaking with the resolute effort that thing put up. He was struggling and trying his best to just be free, apparently knowing his fate if he couldn't.

It ended in a moment. Sneaking up stealthily, the spider plunged its fangs deep into the fly's stomach to slow him down, then begun spinning him up with the thread from his abdomen, creating a cocoon; a coffin to bury the living in. Alphonse could still tell the fly was making a big fuss, not willing to die so easily, but the spider's determination was just as great-- if not greater.

Once more those frothing fangs went deep inside the fly, silencing him eternally this time. The struggle ended abruptly, and the web became still again, the spider's legs weaving the slightly broken web again, mending it with care. He would save his meal for later, and eat it when it had dried a bit.

Al gulped, and brushed away the unnecessary tears that had formed at the corners of his eyes.

He honestly hoped he didn't become like that poor, helpless fly. Hoped that he could break free of this strenuous web that had him so tight against its surface, before the predator sank its fangs into _his _neck. Quite literally. He didn't want to become a fly in a spider's web, or suffer the same fate that little housefly had suffered.

It took Al a very, very long time to fall asleep after that.

End Chapter Four

* * *

**Closing Notes: **_I'm really satisfied with the outcome of this chapter, and I hope you are, too. If you're not, too bad. I did my best. :smiles: Thanks for staying with me so long, those of you (You know who you are.) I love you all so much for reviewing. You're the reason I'm still writing this crazy fanfic! _

_About this chapter-- I really wasn't sure what I was going to do until halfway through, and then I thought about it really hard and decided to just let it come as it wanted to. Turns out that works way better than planning ahead. I think I'm getting a better handle on this whole 'Plot Development Thing.' Not that you care, I'm just saying. XD Haha, anyway. I encourage you to click the button below if you want to submit a nice little review. Thanks a bunch._


	5. Realization

**Author's Notes: **_So we ended the last chapter with a little bit of a grim twist, but hey; I **did **warn you guys that things were going to get darker. I **always **keep my word._

**Warnings: **_AU, Elricest (Actually in this chapter! ), Vampires, Angst, Horror, Language, Violence, Gore, Abuse, and Amnesia. Welcome to chapter five. :smirks: _

* * *

The boards on the window concealed any and all sunlight that tried to come forth. The black curtains swayed back and forth in an imaginary breeze, flowing eerily from side to side in an oddly haunting way. Even if the sun _could _come through, it wouldn't have affected Alphonse very much; he wasn't a vampire after all. Not only that, but he was also burrowed deep beneath the bedspread, sleeping heavily.

Sleeping so heavily that he was thrashing about, punching at empty air, writhing and tangling himself within the blanket, caught in some unseen dream that was slowly, painfully taking him under. In the dream, sinister, evil eyes were staring at him with malice and contempt. The eyes were golden, but they were not Ed's. No, they were much older than Ed's, much crueler. And that grin, that conniving, eerie grin that was directed at him with such satisfaction gave him horrid chills in his slumber, and forced him to cry out in a surreal type of pain.

In his dream he looked down and blood stained his shirt and coated his neck with sticky wetness. He was crying fat teardrops that fell like rain and he could only feel hurt and despair. Then that smug mouth moved and spoke in an icy, complacent drawl:

"He's gone because of your foolishness, my son. Oh, my dear child, how you've disappointed me so! Your own _brother!_"

And his mind wanted to ask, _'Child, son? My brother?' _but he was sobbing noisily, his heart contracting and his fingers digging into his face like perhaps they could silence his sobs. Distantly he felt hands groping into him, killing him softly with intense sensuality, but something told him it _wasn't _that man who had spoken to him.

And with a jolt he awoke with a violent tremble, not too sure if he had cried out or not, bottom lip quivering in helplessness. All his strength was battened down inside him, and all he saw was darkness. With a moment or two passing, he realized that was because of the covers draped over him.

Al pushed them back, and breathed deeply at the fresh air (Well, as fresh as an old, musty, dusty bedroom can be). The room was empty, but he could still feel his flesh burning like those hands from his dream were still touching him. Touching him oh so _wonderfully. . ._ He wanted that sensation to stay that way forever, and to never abandon him. It was a sick desire. A bead of sweat slid down his temple and curved beneath the bottom of his ear.

With a sharp creak of the bed under him, Alphonse disentangled himself from the lecherous confining tightness of the blankets, his battered feet touching the cold, wood floor hesitantly. He still ached terribly; every inch of his body was cramped and throbbing.

The manor was quiet. A glance at the analog clock told him it was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon, and steadily becoming early evening. Winry and Edward would still be sleeping until their functioning vampire instincts woke them up saying it was safe and the sun was gone. But that wouldn't be for another half hour or so. Closer to an hour, he hoped, giving him more time to explore. The first thing that rose into the human's mind was Ed's room. Desperately he wanted to see the dwelling place of such a revered vampire, wanted to see the corrupt living area he confined himself within. . . maybe it'd give him some more insight on what kind of being he was.

Silently, Al crept downstairs to the first floor, careful not to disrupt anything. He could still smell the faint scent of the spices from the previous night's dinner. There was also two bedrooms on the first floor flat, and Al had to make an educated guess as to which one the male vampire was located.

Stepping quietly towards the one he had chosen, he pressed his face against the door and tried to hear something, _anything _beyond its surface. But there was nothing. Slowly he pushed it open with caution, peeking from behind the panel.

Immediately, bronze eyes settled on a long, haunted-house looking box-- _coffin. _It was like a piece of a horror movie stripped out of the film and placed in his once-normal reality. When nothing in the room stirred after a few seconds, Alphonse entered, his heart hammering in his chest with fear and excitement. His feet brought him closer to the coffin, closer to his mind-numbing fright.

In a moment he was alongside it, grazing short fingernails across its surface with a soft scratch sound. A deep pattern was decorated on the cover, an array of some sort of spirals and twists and geometric complexity. He liked the sensation it gave him when he ran his fingers over it.

Then, with a sort of turn of his stomach, he withdrew his hand in an instant and he realized what he should've realized when he first saw the thing--

_There was someone in this casket._

His heart already knew who because the coffin was so decadent and masterful looking, but his mind was curious and prompted his hands to venture farther. In the back of his head the image of Alice falling down the hole into Wonderland yelling, "Curiosity often leads to troubbbllllleeeeeeee!" arose, but he pushed it away grimly, and lifted back the case.

His body shook with complete astonishment as his eyes befell the most incredible sight they had ever seen: There Edward lay, golden hair unbound (Like Al's) perfectly and laying across the satin pillow inside the casket, his eyes closed and soft lashes brushing against the high part of his cheeks. His thin, white lips were pressed together in a still look of contemplation while the rest of his body lay dormant. Pale fingers lay laced on his abdomen, and if Al hadn't known better, he could've sworn that it looked like Ed really was _dead. _

"You're so handsome. . . " He felt himself whisper in awe and reverence and complete befuddlement. An overwhelming feeling of want flooded through him; the entire sight in front of him was mystifying, and he couldn't help it when his hand fell from the lid of the coffin, and his fingertips brushed over those tight lips. He shivered slightly as he brought his fingers all across that still, sleeping face, exploring every inch of it- over Edward's cheeks, his jaw, his chin, beneath his long bangs on his forehead. Ed was so cold, so ghostly and distant, and no matter where Al's digits would roam, he never stirred.

Finally, he settled on Ed's neck, pausing for a minute and considering where to go from there. He inhaled a sharp breath, and fingered the black collar down a bit; revealing a firm, stiff neck. Alphonse leaned over the vampire's body and focused his eyes on a peculiar mark he found.

It was faded with age, and barely more than a scar there. But clear as day, two hole-like wounds marred up his ivory skin as living proof that he _was _undead. Al smiled and gently applied pressure to the marks, but still the man didn't move. It was such awe-inspiring sight that he felt a loss for breath. He had caught Edward in his most vulnerable state, his most beautiful state.

As lovely and decorative and ornate as the coffin was, the vampire within it held a heart of hatred and blackness and fury; a heart of stone.

_I want to heal you. I want to make you feel again. Maybe you can heal me, too._

Bronze eyes shut peacefully, and he lowered his head to sit carefully on Ed's chest. "Heal me," he murmured with want. That's all he wanted was to be healed. So many years of loneliness that not even Isaac could alleviate. So many years of empty houses, empty hearts, empty life. Back then his motivation was that of a zombie's. But he let himself keep moving-- he had to work hard to get where he was, to keep supporting the household so he and his mother wouldn't starve. So his soul wouldn't starve. And now. . .

It was that moment that Alphonse admitted to himself that he did, indeed, have feelings for the vampire.

* * *

A few moments later, Al had shut the coffin and was leaving the room quietly. The door shut with a soft 'click.' His small heart was still pounding relentlessly and his veins felt tight. Those butterflies that everyone talked about were now dancing, taking residence in his stomach. He couldn't believe it; how had he not seen it coming? These feelings . . . they were there and oh so very hungry. But he shook his head, loose dishwater blonde hair scattering over his back and shoulders.

_He'd never feel the same way for me. We're too different. But still exactly the same. We've both seen too much. And besides, I'm sure he and Winry . . . are. . . well. It just wouldn't work. _

He slammed his fists into his head, groaning softly. "Agh! Alphonse, you _can't _like a guy! You can't! It's not normal!" he mumbled out to himself.

_What **is **normal, anyways?_

It was just. . . that feeling he got when he looked at the sleeping figure. He'd never felt that way about anyone before. Suddenly he had felt that surge of desire run through him, and he had wanted so badly to feel those strong hands on him, cool to his flesh, and those gold eyes looking straight through him. Those lips he had touched, he now craved to feel on his own.

And he hated it.

He hated this crush, hated it with a passion. He didn't _want _to feel this way about another male, didn't want to reach out and feel that cold skin again. He leaned against the door hard, breathing heavily and feeling guilty. But it wasn't so simple to get rid of a crush. Wasn't so simple to _not_ want that enticing creature. Struggling to try and think of something else, Al left the support of the door and begin walking up the stairs to the second floor, focusing his eyes on his bare bruised feet. The wood floor was cold beneath them, and the heavy coat of dust was making the soles dirty. He was so concentrated on his feet, that he hardly noticed when he passed the second floor. He was already halfway up the staircase to the third floor.

Shrugging nonchalantly he simply continued, thinking that perhaps he could keep exploring the depths of the house. The third floor was the party floor, he knew. And maybe there'd be something interesting up there. When he reached the landing of the third floor he distantly heard a soft scratching sound and a ticking lull. Wood floor creaking beneath his weight, Al walked down the hall, peering into the distorted, messy rooms, finding them quite pitiful.

Most doors were open, and the rooms smelled like a frat. party or a kegger, and the stench of assorted alcohol. And blood; the scent of blood, too. There was another room he passed, however, that was even more estranged than the others. And that ticking and scratching got worse. _Louder._

Al looked in curiously, finding garbage on the floor, empty beer bottles, torn magazines and books and such, pizza boxes, blood stained couches, sofas, futons, chairs, recliners, dusty mantles, and a large clock on the far wall. Trying to see the time, Al moved closer, squinting to see better.

He stepped farther into the room, bare feet crunching garbage-wadded burger wrappers and settling his hands on the back of one of those dirty, disgusting couches. The grime slicked his palms and it was very nauseating, but he was still straining to see the time on that clock.

Subtly, vague realization filtered in, and he noticed that the 'seconds' hand on the clock was stuck in the same place, frozen in eternity, recounting the same second forever. That same 'tick' sounded out every time the hand would attempt to move itself, without success. It reminded him of how hard that fly had tried to escape, but only ended up with a cocoon of webbing silk around him, dead and still.

_Tick. Tick. Tick. _

And it still read 2:39 and 16 seconds; the way it would remain. Hell, now he didn't even know what time it was! And since the windows were boarded up, he couldn't see if it was dark or not outside. Even so, that scratching sound was there now, more than before. The clock had been _ticking_, not scratching.

His eyes looked over the room, trying to find the source of the noise.

Way off in the corner a dead cat laid, its eyes bugged hideously, and glassy looking. It had been dead for a long time; its fur was shaggy and dirty and his stomach was open, his innards spilling out onto the floor. He could see a fat, black rat scurrying around the cat, nibbling at the remains, eating organs and dead flesh, its hairy little nose sniffing and prodding.

Al's hand instantly flew up to cover his mouth, and he looked away respectfully. He heard the rat squeak in delight.

_He'll never go hungry again._

Bile was rising into his throat, but he swallowed it back down. Its acidity burnt like fire. He was sick of death, sick f the churn in his stomach, sick of being around this. He backed out of the room silently, wincing when his foot landed on a piece of glass from a discarded beer bottle, slicing through tender skin, but otherwise ignoring it.

Al turned around and quickly went up the first set of stairs he could find. He was leaving blood footprints all over the floor, marring up the nice wood. Those footprints ascended up to the fourth floor, and he realized he had begun running. It felt like something was chasing him, but he knew it was only paranoia. Still, it didn't keep him from increasing his speed if only by an inch.

Collapsing on the final stair, his upper body on the landing, he laid his head down tiredly. He felt shaken like he had before. It was quiet up here, more peaceful, but in a frightening way. The kind of peaceful that seemed eternal. Peaceful like as in a gravely peacefulness. He didn't like that feeling and the floor smelled funny. He lifted himself up; hair messy and no hair tie to put it back. (Where had he put that anyway?)

He remembered this top section of the house from the night before. There were several rooms up here, and a large, ominous doorway at the end of the hall. It moaned.

Maybe he had just imagined it.

But no. That door was speaking to him without words. It was calling him foreword, begging him to be near it, to disobey what Edward had told him NOT to do. That doorway. . . the attic. The one Ed had told him not to go into and the one that was now drawing him in like some kind of hypnosis. He _knew _there was something strange behind it, something the two vampires didn't want Al (or anyone else) to see. Before he could stop himself, his bloody feet were bringing him closer and closer to the door. He yearned to know what was behind it. Because no one would tell him not to look beyond it if there wasn't something horrendous within.

The more he was told not to look in, the more he wanted to. It was a forbidden thing that his insides were craving to taste and to know. Like the fruit in the Garden of Eden. Like a cookie sitting far below in the bottom of the cookie jar. When a child is told no, he does anyway. The process of learning. Alphonse hadn't learned just yet.

He grazed his fingertips over the knob lightly, its cold searing into his very core. He swore he could hear something clawing at the oak barrier, trying to escape. He figured he'd have to walk up a staircase before coming to the actual attic, but he was just so _eager_ and --

A hand on his shoulder grabbed him violently and spun him around, freeing the doorknob of his hand.

"Ack! What the--"

And that grip switched from his shoulder to his neck faster than he could blink, clutching so strong and tight and shoving him forcibly into the door he had only been just about to open. Al's breath picked up, but began to slowly cease when Ed's fingers tightened menacingly around his throat.

"I- - I c-ca-can't . . brea-breath--!!" He gasped, his pretty eyes nearly shut, and his nails digging into the arm outstretched before him. A growl came in response to that, and at the same time the ground was no longer beneath his feet, and he was being lifted up as though there was a noose around his thin neck.

Edward bared his sharp teeth dangerously at the boy, predatorily even, his grip tightening ever still. And he slammed Alphonse roughly against the door again, the knob jabbing painfully into his back. If he'd had enough breath, he would've cried out from the throbbing sensation that impaled him.

But in a moment his neck was bare again and he was falling hard against the floor. Gasping frantically for breath, he clawed into the ground, choking and coughing and trembling. He knew there would be bruises in his flesh because that grip was a death grip- a _vice grip. _

"I-I. . . wasn't going to! I _wasn't!" _he lied desperately. He wanted so bad to vent some of his own physical anger out on the man before him, but this man was immortal, and there'd be no way he could vent _anything _on him. Except maybe sexual frustration, but that was a different thought altogether.

Ed knelt down next to him, gold eyes raging and furious, while his face was oddly calm. He looked like a storm brewing within the shores of an old town next to the sea. "You don't want to see what's up there. Please believe me. I'm only doing this for your own good."

_You didn't have to be so violent though! _His mind screamed. Al shook slightly as he pushed himself up on his knees. His heart was erratic in a frenzy of scared emotions and twists and turns. He felt like he was a roller coaster, and it was eerily thrilling. He hacked a little, his hands placed on the floor, his back arched. He could still feel fingerprints indenting his neck, throttling him aggressively. He coughed a few times, burning up. He was only a little surprised when a hand found his back, rubbing his shoulder blades soothingly.

"I'm sorry," Ed whispered in such a sweet tone, such a sincere way. "Just don't cry, okay? I don't want you trying to go in there again. That place does things to you. Things that you as a mortal couldn't handle even if you thought you could. It's much more than mind over matter in there. _Don't _look at the door."

Alphonse was so confused, so lost by this whole thing. But either way, Edward was right. He shouldn't cry. He straightened up a bit, rolling his shoulders back, and accidentally brushing away the hand that had been on him. It slid down a little, touching his lower back in a gentle way, causing him to involuntarily make a noise beneath his breath.

Even the aggression Ed had just shown a moment before towards him didn't deter his feelings for the man in the least. In fact, it strengthened them. He looked at Ed who smiled at him, a little guilty looking. Al spoke up: "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have--"

"It did something to you, didn't it?"

The younger boy nodded.

"It's evil." Ed muttered, his hand still on Al's lower back. He didn't realize the side effects that was causing. "Promise me you wont do that again. _Promise."_

Al nodded again, his eyes falling downcast. "I promise."

And to his pleasured surprise, he felt Ed lean even closer to him, his hand running up the mortal's back and brushing hair away from his neck. "Because," he murmured sensually. His body pressed in closer, closer, and he leaned his head down to the area of the part of the anatomy that all vampires go for. "Next time, there'll be consequences." With that his lips touched Al's neck softly, fangs so very near and like shiny pearls in the dim light of the fourth floor. The slid along the flesh, but made no mark, just a long line of teasing. The left goose bumps in there seductive wake.

Alphonse froze instantly. "I. . .I. . ."

Ed pulled back, laughing hysterically. He flashed the kid a feral, joking grin and ruffled his hair playfully. "Just kidding you pansy! Jesus, you should've seen the look on your face!"

_Blush._

"I-I knew that," Alphonse mumbled quietly, his scarlet hued face flaming brightly, and his hands balled into fists atop his lap. _Only kidding, only kidding. You don't want it. You don't. _But try as he might he couldn't help but want to feel all those sensations again. Edward's lips and teeth on him again. . . anywhere on him. He wanted that feeling again. He also got the feeling though that it would be the closest he'd ever get to the vampire. And that thought saddened him slightly.

"So," the elder boy mused, sitting back on his rear, leaning against the wall. "What did you want me to tell you about anyway?"

There was a long pause, and it took Al a moment to think of what was being said. Then it clicked. "Oh! Yes. Well you said when we got here you'd tell me why it is you need my help, why your being chased, who's chasing you. . . things like that. To kind of help me understand better." The redness in his face was starting to fade as he began to ease against the wall, too. He continued on to say that the other condition for the conversation was that Ed had to also answer any other questions Al had.

Ed looked puzzled for a second, but nodded his assent on the issue either way. "Okay. Sounds fair. Well, to start off, I better just tell you how I became a vampire. That'll make it all easier."

The other nodded.

"Almost my entire life I've been with my dad. I can't remember all the details, but I remember I've always been around him. He knew a lot of downtown people from when we lived in Elay City. There were all types- Wiccans, Witches, Self-Proclaimed vampires, Goths, Stoners. . . what society would call 'The Dark Crowd.' It was all very strange. But as far as my memory goes back, I remember people and I remember them taking care of me, watching me, befriending me. They were my only family, besides dad. It was weird. He made sure I was taken care of though. But supposedly one night I was with his friend Sabine, a really friendly lady whom my father loved very much. I think they had something going on, but I could never be too sure with him. So anyway, she was watching me while he was out, and he came home very different. Something was wrong with him. Something I'd never noticed before in all the years we'd spent together on the road. He killed Sabine, and made me what I am. It was the scariest shit I've ever had to go through." Edward stopped and glanced at Al who was staring at him intently through his bangs, mouth making a small 'o' shape. Ed couldn't help but smile at the look on his companion's face, and then looked down at his own hands, fidgeting slightly.

"We kept on the road at night, much like you and I did the night before last and before then, too. He became stronger, and I just watched his every move. He began telling me about these people he knew. And about their ways. About the ways that they practiced. It scared me because he was taking me with him to find these people. They were down south a few cities, and I went with him, despite my intuition telling me it was the most dumb-shit decision I've ever NOT made." There was a pause, and the click of nails digging under nails came out in the air. It was clear that the vampire was uncomfortable with speaking so fluently about his past experiences. "So when we got there, I was sort of initiated, and I was beginning to feel like I really was a vampire. The sun would tear at my skin and my eyes if I were in its presence for even a second. I couldn't eat anything for a long while, and I craved blood and the wet, coppery taste of it. They hated me there, though. They hated everything about me. When my father was out _hunting _they'd beat me, and because it was like Vampire rehabilitation, I couldn't fight back. I was very weak back then. They were trying to absorb my powers, and I didn't find out why until later. It turned out that. . .well, I'll tell you that later."

Alphonse shifted a bit, his hands between his legs, folded politely. He was a good listener in times like these, and these stories were interesting. It was hard to imagine Edward being human, but if he thought about it, it did seem logical. He imagined him as a very sweet, innocent boy who had a charming face and could win any girl's heart from here to the capital. "So did your dad ever find out that they were hurting you?"

"Psh, of course not." Ed answered, waving his hand as though it were an absurd notion. "I was a new-born vampire. And vampires heal quickly. They wanted to kill me though, and he knew that. He was afraid. He was afraid that I was going to become stronger than he was. But to this day, he's still twice as strong as I am, if not more. I'm merely half of his shadow. Half of his soul. He's more of a vampire than I could ever wish to become, but only because he's so old. He's such an old vampire. He's. . . restless. He needed to cause a commotion. One I couldn't alleviate. Anyway, after so long, their abuse became too much. I killed them as soon as my body was able. I fed off of their own Vampiric blood, and I didn't need blood for a month; theirs was enough to sustain my craving. But I knew that my father would be after me. He cared for them much more than his decrepit son. So I ran. And I found Winry. A homeless girl who had no family, no money, no job, no hope. I turned her into what I am, and she and I have been friends for over a year and a half now. She means the world to me, but drives me crazy."

Things were slowly beginning to make perfect sense and the jigsaw puzzle pieces were falling into proper place. Little details were aligning themselves, and Al was starting to get a clearer vision of what corrupted Ed so horribly, and ruined his mentality. . . The reasons he needed so desperately to be healed. It only made his weak crush on the other male stronger, growing in want. He tried to push it away and concentrate on the story.

"So the people chasing me right now is just my father. And whomever else he's had to hire to help him. I know he knows a lot of vampires around the north areas and whatever, and that they'll be angry if they know what I've done. I didn't just kill my own kind-- I slaughtered them. I massacred them. I ripped their fucking throats out without a second thought. I resented them for turning my father against me, for beating me every chance they got. . . for ruining me. I hated them so badly I wanted them to die. To die and stay dead. I slaughtered them into oblivion. What's more is it wasn't the last time. I killed so much after that. I had a blood lust, and not a normal vampire's blood lust either. I had a need to kill. Half the people I killed, I didn't even drink from. That's the pathetic part." Gold eyes looked down the hall to the entryway, and Al could see tears trickling down those pale cheeks. Ed didn't even seem to notice. He didn't seem to care.

"It's not simple, Al. It's not simple being a vampire. I don't ever want you to become what I am. I don't want that for you. And the reason you're _not _a vampire, is the reason I need you. I have a good idea of where my dad is, and we're going to attack him before he attacks us. It's easy. You can be in sunlight. You can live regularly. And I know he has some humans on his side as well. They'll be after me because they know we vampires sleep during daylight. They'll come for me," for the first time Ed looked scared when he turned his face toward the younger boy. His face was grimaced and he seemed to notice the tears then, because he roughly brushed them away with the back of his hand. "I'm. . . asking you to kill my father. I'm asking you to kill him for me. Maybe I'll finally be at peace when he's gone. I don't wanna do this anymore. I don't wanna live like this. I just wanna be normal again." A sniff. "Whatever the fuck normal is anyway." Another sniff, and a half-sob. "I wanna find my family. I want to be with them. I want to be normal for them. A human. But. . . maybe they'd love me even if I wasn't. . .?"

Alphonse smiled in an assuring way and set his hand on the other's shoulder. "I know they'd love you. I . . . just know." He didn't know how, but something deep inside of him said that whatever family of Ed's that was left would love and accept him for whatever he'd done or whatever he was. That's just how accepting Al thought most people were. Even if it was just a fantasy. He'd never known that acceptance, either.

Their gazes met briefly, and the smaller of them felt his face heat up again in realization of how close they were. Not just in the bodily sense; now that Al was being told things, he felt he was much closer to the vampire in terms of friendship. "I always wished I had more family. But it was always just me and my mom." He said with a soft smile, looking away and letting his hand leave Ed. "I wanted a brother for the longest time. I used to dream about my 'Dream-Brother'. Someone I looked up to so much. He protected me from this thing that haunted my dreams. He protected me from the bullies at school. He held my hand when we were crossing the street. . . He was wonderful. I just never had him. And I resent my mother for leaving my father. Or whichever way it was. Because then maybe I could've had a big brother. Or some kind of sibling. It was lonely for me."

He glanced back up at Ed and found that he was looking at him still, his mouth parted a little and his eyes insanely sympathetic. It wasn't an expression Al was used to seeing. But either way, it was nice. "I don't know if I can kill your dad for you. I. . . I've never killed anything in my entire life. I hate death. I hate it when things die. I don't know if I have the will power."

"That's not all I need you for. You're sort of my means of protection. You're my lookout. If someone comes for me, you'll be there, and you'll see them. And you can wake me up (As difficult as that will be) and I can protect myself! You're job is really very easy. We'll be leaving this place in a week. It's enough time for me to get my affairs in order, and rest up. I'm not sure if Winry is going to come with us or not, but I advised her against it. I don't want to put her in danger, too. She's a vampire, but not the strongest." So there it was. Semi-proof that there were feelings there. Edward had feelings for her. Something in Al sunk down low at that thought. It ached when he breathed. "I was going to tell you before that the other reason those people didn't want me alive is because they were afraid, too. They were afraid of how powerful I could become if I honed my powers. If I discovered them a little more. That's why everyone wants me dead. Not just dead as in vampire dead. . . _dead. _It's not just revenge-- they're afraid of me. They're afraid of everything. Damn cowards. I don't even know what to do to reach my full potential. I. . .just wish they realized I'm not a threat."

His voice was so sorrow filled, so forlorn. It made the air tremble in reverence, like it's own struggles were pie compared to the struggles the vampire had been through. His young life so wasted at the hands of immortality. He didn't ever want this, he didn't ever want to become this way, and feed off of people's life. To feed off of what made them human. In a sort of odd recognition, Ed thought to himself. _We're really just selfish creatures. We lost our lives, so we must get back at humans and steal theirs away from them. We must live like fire-- all consuming and powerful, but when doused with light, succumb to the shadows. A twisted cycle. Mechanical. _

Things like that were hard for people to realize. They were recognitions that most wouldn't want to be true. In essence, the truth does hurt. It always hurts when it's something you didn't want to admit to yourself. But part of being real was learning that reality is truth. And the truth comes no matter how much you wish it wouldn't.

"I'm sorry," Al replied after a long moment of contemplative silence. He didn't know what he was apologizing for, but it seemed necessary at that precise time. "I hope I can help at least a little. I don't know about killing your father, but. . . I'll definitely try and help." his voice faded a little and his eyes met a calm, golden ocean. He felt he could get lost just looking into that gaze. It was entrancing, simply entrancing. But then, what did he expect? This was a vampire, after all.

While Edward, who was beside himself inwardly, was taking that moment to look the younger man over in a considering way. He hadn't really noticed it before, but Alphonse was very, very cute. He'd go as far as saying adorable, but the word didn't seem to do him justice. He could tell that when he grew up, Al was going to be a good looking guy. He smiled at that thought. _He's lucky. He can grow up. He can die. He can do so many things that I threw away. I wish I could communicate that to him somehow._

"Can I ask you something?" came the quiet request from the younger of the pair.

Ed smiled in an eerie way, and nodded. "I believe those were the terms of our agreement. Go ahead."

"Did you ever fall in love with anyone?" Al's eyes fell suddenly, like he was afraid the truth was about to fall out of his face. Like if he looked the vampire in the eyes for even a moment longer, he'd know every secret that was kept within him. That he'd see how much Al felt the desire within him grow as each second they spent in each other's presence passed.

There was a brief pause, and Ed, too, looked away. His head rested in his palm as he thoughtfully scrutinized elsewhere. It took some of the pressure off of the mortal, who raised his eyes shyly to catch a quick glimpse before darting them back to his lap. "I don't believe in love. But . . . I wish I did. This life is going to be too long to go without someone to love. But I've managed my entire life without it. I can survive another few centuries."

"You mean, you and Winry aren't. . . ?"

"God no!" Edward shouted, his animalistic eyes wide with mock fear. "She's like. . . my sister. She's too close to me. We're best friends." He grinned fondly in the mention of her. "She's a good person, and an even better vampire, but it'd be like dating a relative. And incest is something I don't condone."

Relief and subdued happiness washed over Al. He breathed deeply and let it out slowly to avoid being conspicuous. "Oh. I was just curious." He let himself smile, despite how much he wanted to keep a straight face. And he couldn't help but catch that glance again. When the other noticed Al looking at him, too, they stayed that way for what felt like an eternity.

Without making too much of a spectacle about it, Ed leaned in a little closer, their shoulders brushing provocatively, and suggesting more than he wanted it to. Their faces became closer in a matter of split seconds, and he observed how surprise passed over the mortal's features. He found it amusing as he severed the distance between them.

Al on the other hand, felt his cheeks turn a bright, bold red, and he swore he saw enjoyment dance over the man's expression. They were so close already, shoulders touching in a soft way, their mouths becoming nearer and nearer. It was making his heart hammer crazily, and he was positive Ed could hear it.

Gold eyes were just drifting shut, moving in for whatever it was he wanted, when a creak on the staircase made them both bolt a good foot from one another.

Winry stood there smiling, shrugging off whatever she had seen. It didn't matter to her. "Hey." she said brightly, and waved at them.

_Oh my God. Oh my God. What the hell was with that? Does he. . . want something? Something like what I want? No freaking way! I can't believe this. Would I have just gotten kissed? Would he really have gone through with it? Oh, who the fuck am I kidding? He was probably messing around with me just like last time. _All the inane thoughts that were running through his head in the midst of the heat of the moment were all but dead now, and he sat there, his arms over his knees, looking up at the blonde girl through his barley hued bangs as she approached them.

"What are you two up to?" She questioned suggestively, just to give them both a hard time. After receiving an estranged growl from Ed, she mildly chuckled at them, and left the question unanswered. "Ed, can I talk to you downstairs? It's important." her eyes flicked over to Al who seemed very small all of a sudden. "I'm not trying to exclude you or anything, Al, it's just something that we need to deal with." she smiled as if to convince herself, as well as the human.

_Whatever. Just leave me alone. Stop treating me like a fucking baby. Everyone needs to stop treating me like a baby. _

He beamed at her in a patronizing way, though she bought it perfectly. "That's fine." His cheeks ached from all the fake smiling he'd done in his life. So many years of pretending he was all right. He wanted the loneliness to disappear. Even with Isaac always by his side, he'd felt the loneliness. It was heavy and suffocated him like a huge down blanket. Stifling and oppressive.

Ed stood up and brushed imaginary dirt off of his jeans and black tee shirt. More than once he let his eyes travel back to that lost face, and he felt his own heat up with the eccentric feeling of yearning he had been realizing he got around Al. "There's a bathroom down the hall from your bedroom. There are towels, washcloths, and anything else you'll need under the sink. Shampoo, Conditioner, and Soap are in the shower. Just help yourself. I'll put some clothes in there for you. Since you _lost your backpack." _The last part was full of the mock-anger exaggeration that the vampire always used to prove some point.

Winry flipped a long strand of hair behind her shoulder, watching them through cerulean eyes. They certainly were entertaining.

Alphonse gave a small nod in compliance, and hugged his knees tighter to his chest. "Alright. Thank you." And a fleeting thought, one that he couldn't help but consider, passed through his mind:

_I wonder what he would do if I asked him to shower with me. . . _

Burying his face in his arms to hide any trace of silenced embarrassment, Al listened to their retreating footsteps resounding down the stairs as they left him alone with the door his was forbade from entering. Being alone again made him jump to his feet as well, walking slower then them, incase they began their discussion early. He didn't want to hear anything he wasn't supposed to. Though, he did realize that they hadn't finished their conversation. He'd have to bring it up later.

* * *

Edward made himself comfortable in a maroon recliner in the center living (or in this case, 'Dying') room on the bottom floor. He crossed his legs like a typical man; the ankle of one foot rested on his opposite knee. He breathed deeply, trying to rid himself of any stray thoughts, and watching as the girl sat on the sofa nearest him. She looked troubled.

"I don't understand you," she said quietly, her eyes downcast and seeming to admire the upholstery and pattern of the material on the couch.

He snorted offhandedly, rolling his optics in his usual condescending way that told her he didn't care. "I don't know what you're talking about." He kept his head cocked, and his eyes upon the ceiling. He didn't want to get into another argument with her. Not now.

Winry crossed her arms and stared him dead on, although he refused to do the same. "You're such a fucking coward sometimes. I know what you're back for. I know why you came back with someone. And I think you're a coward to ask someone else for help besides me. Do you know how shitty that makes me feel? It makes me feel like you don't even value my friendship."

That got him to look back at her. "I chose someone else for that very reason. Because I _do _value your friendship. I value it more than anything. He. . . can do things you can't. He's a human, Winry. He can go places and do things we can't. You haven't been this way for very long. You don't know the things I know."

She made an indistinguishable sound under her breath to show her thoughts on that. It was always only Ed who could get her so riled up. He was such an asshole when he wanted to be! "I think it's something else if you ask me."

"No one asked you."

Did that ever stop her before? Of course not.

"I think you like him. I think it's something _different_ for you, and you feel something strange for him."

Those words hung in the air like a sheet hung to dry on a clothesline in the summer. It kept Edward silent for a long while, maybe thinking about the rationality of her logic. Perhaps it was true, though. Not like she needed to know that, but he guessed she already did. She could read him like a bad horror novel. Would it be okay to tell her? Maybe. . .

"I have to go give him some clothes for after his shower. I'll be right back." He excused himself without another word, and went to do just that.

* * *

At first, Al had been reluctant about stepping into the shower. His feet were covered in blisters and bruises, and he didn't know if it would sting or not. He wasn't a huge fan of pain. Not to mention the large cut on the bottom of his foot from the broken beer bottle. Surprisingly, neither Ed nor Winry had noticed the bloody footprints. Or were too polite to mention them.

The bathroom was very old fashioned with marble counters, and a brass sink that was worn away with age. The tub was deeply sunk in, and he thought he'd rather bathe than shower. But he wanted to make it quick so he could get out of the bathroom. There were cobwebs in every corner. Some were still inhabited by sleeping Daddy Long Legs, which only served to remind him of the incident the night before. And of the dead cat. There was a black shower curtain hanging around the huge porcelain tub.

After stripping out of his dirty, grime covered clothing; Alphonse pulled the curtain back and looked into the shower. The place seemed overall well used, and cleaned thoroughly, but what caught his attention was the large spider in the basin. Definitely not a Daddy Long Legs, but more resembling a Wolf Spider. The kind he'd always encounter back home in his bathroom. It sat there, unmoving, but certainly alive. He scowled at it, and sighed. He hated killing things. But he couldn't just stand there naked all night! He had things to do. Well, not really, but he certainly didn't want to be naked for any longer than he had to.

Reaching in, he turned the knob with the word "Hot" on it to the left. Water sprouted from the faucet, raining on the bottom of the basin, and making the spider go 'Swoop!' He sloshed around in the water for a good moment, before the tidal wave dragged him down the drain. Before stepping in, Al turned the cold knob on, and checked the temperature. When it met his standards, he stepped in vigilantly, and let the warm water wash over his battered body. It felt heavenly. Like nothing he'd ever experienced before. For a moment in time, he let the water wash away all of his fears, and all of his worry. He momentarily forgot everything, and concentrated on the newborn feeling that was brewing within him.

Little did he know that it would be the last time he'd feel so carefree in a very, very long time.

He savored it.

There was an herbal green tea shampoo and conditioner set alongside him on the edge of the porcelain tub. He looked at them warily. He was scrubbing at his head in a second, creating a green lathering mess in his long, tangled hair. He could literally feel the grease and dirt come out of his locks, leaving them breathing and cleanly alive. Then came the conditioner, and he watched as the water that pooled around his feet became a gray color from the lack of bathing he'd done. The conditioner washed out whatever was left of the filth.

He was just lathering up a washcloth with the blue soap he found in the soap dish, when a knock on the bathroom door took him out of his dreamy daze. The soap clattered into the water, and he grew still. He suddenly resembled a deer caught in the headlights. "Wh-who is it?" his voice asked quietly. There was no certainty he could be heard over the tumble of water.

"It's me. I brought you some clothes."

This time the washcloth dropped, too. Edward's lovely, alluring tone was the one that spoke to him through the oak door. He'd be in here. . . and Al would be naked. Only a curtain separating them. The thought was too much. He'd make a fool of himself. He knew he would. Nonetheless, he was an idiot, and his mouth was already moving before he had time to contemplate the consequences. "Come in."

He heard the creak of the door, and then it closed gently.

Was that it? Did he just set them on the counter and leave that fast? Huh. He got out of it that easily? No way.

Just when he was bending over a little to pick up the discarded washcloth and soap, he stopped.

"I have to ask you something, too."

Alphonse couldn't keep back the small yelp that escaped his mouth at the unannounced presence of the vampire. _Holy shit. I'm naked and he's in the room. I'm naked and he's in the room! What do I do? I'm going to freak. Keep calm, Al. He's probably only going to ask you about your conversation earlier. Yeah, that's it! _Gulping absently, Al pulled back the curtain enough to reveal his torso, and he gave Ed an expecting look. The man was leaning against the counter lackadaisically, like he didn't really feel right. "Okay. Go ahead." He briefly glanced to the marble counter top, and noticed a pair of faded jeans there with an old white tee shirt and a black sweatshirt. It looked inviting.

Edward tried his best not to stare at the naked skin presented before him, but he couldn't help but alternate his gaze from Al's bronze eyes to his neck-- which looked perfectly delectable and appealing-- and down to his chest, where he found that the boy was just about as frail as he seemed with clothing on. His body had no definition to it. There were no muscles, but he wasn't weak. He was. . . lean. He looked like a young teenager. While really, he was only a year and three quarters younger than Ed. Well, by now Al would be even younger, seeing as how Ed had been a vampire for nearly a year and a half. It was all confusing, and he snapped back. But even then, he still noticed how Al's clean, wet hair clung to his skin beautifully and accented his shoulders with the way the tresses hung over them. It took all of his willpower and then some to keep himself back. He wanted more than anything to take just a couple steps foreword and claim that gorgeous body as his own. He wanted it horribly. He wanted Alphonse so bad it was painful to look at him with the realization that he simply _couldn't. _

"I. . . was wondering something about earlier." the voice that spoke out hardly sounded like his own. He watched the expression on the boy's face change a little from expecting to almost instantaneously reluctant or hesitant.

"What about earlier?" Al asked back apprehensively.

"Did you want me to kiss you?"

A bomb was immediately set off inside the mortal. He felt his legs become weaker than they already were, and he had to grip the shower wall to keep himself steady. Also, his eyes no longer held the confidence they had before, because now they looked down at the water at his feet, hiding his expression from view. _Out of all the possible questions and scenarios, he had to ask THAT question, while I'm in THIS scenario? Way to go. Remind me to kill him whenever I get the chance. _

But then something clicked. _I have to answer the question. _His bronze eyes widened a little, and he raised his head a bit to find that Ed look genuinely, sincerely interested. A shy type of interested that signified he was embarrassed, too. This was a compromising position for both of them.

Well, Alphonse was a normally honest person. He usually always told the truth. He never had the need to lie. He never _wanted _to lie. Why start now?

"Yes." he said it so far under his breath that it would've been impossible for Ed to hear it.

_"_What?"

_"_I said, _Yes." _he repeated, still clutching the wall and the curtain with the tightest grip he could manage, and refusing to even look at the other male. He wanted to drown right then and there. There'd be no way things could be the same for them around each other now. Now Ed would know how Al felt, and everything would fall apart. There would be no more conversations like the one today. . . it'd be too awkward.

There was the sound of dragging nails over a sleek surface, and it caused attention to Ed's hand, which was the source of the noise. He was standing there unable to say anything, just looking at the mortal a couple feet in front of him. He declined himself the offer of showing how much this pleased and surprised him. One thing that he was good at was hiding his emotions.

Alphonse spoke first, his hands fiddling with the black curtain, the water falling disconsolately behind him, unable to handle the scrutiny any longer. "I know you probably think I'm sick for wanting a kiss from a guy, let alone a vampire, but. . . um. Curiosity? I don't know." No lie was able to cover it, because it was so clear how he felt. He was sure it was obvious! No one could be so blind as to not see it. Hell no, it wasn't curiosity. That was definitely a blatant lie. It was a known fact that Isaac had given Al his first kiss from another boy. And then there was always the possibility that he was curious what one from a vampire could be like. But did that mean he wanted to die? Did that mean he was a gay, vampire loving, masochistic, little seventeen year old? Or did he just --

A huge sigh from the other man brought him away from the roundabout thoughts that were coursing through his head. "Well, okay. Thanks. Your clothes are right here." there was a vague gesture to the pile of distorted clothing with no common correlation to it, and Edward was moving towards the door, attempting to remove himself from the pot of boiling water.

"That's it?" Al asked, a little surprised, his face looking like 'After all that, that's all your going to say?'

Pause.

"What else did you expect?"

_Sex you nimrod. Durr. Of course I wanted a kiss! But I can't tell you that. No. You're an inconsiderate vampire bastard. You'd kill me without a second thought if you didn't need my help. _"Nothing," was the simple reply. Al shrugged and let the curtain of the shower fall closed.

* * *

It was about 8 o'clock now, and the night was just beginning for all of them. Everyone had only been up for a little over three hours. They still had a solid 9 more to go. There wasn't a whole ton to do in an empty mansion.

Al got out of the shower about ten minutes after Ed had left. He dressed quickly in the clothes provided. So quickly, in fact, that the steam from the shower still hung in the air when he left the bathroom. The clothes felt like they were well used, and it made him shiver knowing he was wearing the immortal boy's clothing. The black sweatshirt had some strange design on it that was something like a skull but not quite. It was too distorted to tell for sure, but whatever it was, it suited the human nicely. It was the kind of thing Isaac would've worn.

He had grabbed a brush out of the bathroom before he left, and was busy brushing the tangles out of his hair while walking down the stairs, his bare feet padding noiselessly across the wood. He could hear speaking from the base of the stairs. Somewhere in the living room. No words were discernable yet, but they were becoming clearer with each step he walked down. Slowly, he could make out broken up sentences:

"Only person who. . . I've never been. . . . I can't even think when. . ."

And then bits of what Winry was saying in response.

"You should've thought. . . when you agreed to. . . just a kid. . . never gotten yourself into. . . "

When he reached the bottom of the steps, he paused, brushing out another long, auburn lock, and watching water droplets fall to the floor. He remained quiet, listening intently. Now that he was closer, he could make out full sentences.

"I don't know. You'd think that I should be too smart for this, but I'm just like a regular teenager. I have raging hormones too!" Ed's voice cried out, perhaps a bit too loud. It made Al have to snort back his laughter at that admittance.

Then Winry spoke, his voice of reason. "Yes, but you're still a horny jerk. Don't you think it's just an infatuation? It's not love or anything, right? I mean, it'd never work. When two people like that come together, there can only be catastrophe." There was the sound of her making an odd "Kaboom!" sound, and the crashing and breaking of some object.

"Dammit, Winry! You fucking airhead! Why the hell'd you do that?"

"See? That's what I mean. That's exactly what it would be like!"

Alphonse crinkled his nose in confusion, and nibbled inattentively at his lower lip, while he ran his fingers through wet strands. What were they talking about? It was obvious it had to do with a crush of some sort, and. . .something else. It sounded like Ed had a crush or something on Winry. And. . . Winry was against it? Or thought it would break a lamp, and eat some sort of discolored sushi? So this is what happens when you eavesdrop on someone's conversation when it has nothing to do with you.

Smiling casually, and pretending to have just been entering, Al continued walking foreword, brushing his hair, and entering the living room. He found Ed sprawled over the arm of the couch doing God knows what, yammering on about how if Winry had a penis, she'd know what he was talking about. The mere mention of the word 'penis' made Al's mouth drop open, because apparently, Ed hadn't heard him come in.

Winry had only just noticed, too, and her pretty blue eyes looked at him in surprise. "Al! Hey there, sweetie! How was your shower?"

"It was fine, thanks." He gave her a polite smile in return, and looked at Ed's ass that was up in the air, due to his position on the arm of the sofa. It was clear he was picking something up off the floor, and when he heard Al's voice, he jumped in utter revelation, bits of glass ceramic flying every where, and yelping like a wounded dog.

"Winry you cheap bitch! Why didn't you tell me he was in here?"

"Because I like seeing you make a fool of yourself."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's so, asshole. You fucking excuse for a male rapist!"

"Well you suck harder than a New York hooker, you stupid vampire slut!"

"At least I'm not some cock-sucking pansy man. Who loves little seventeen year old boys."

There was an overly long pause there, one in which the blonde girl looked at Al through narrowed cerulean eyes to catch his reaction, while Ed glared at her with malice and complete contempt. "I do NOT love little SEVENTEEN YEAR OLD BOYS." There was finality in that, and for some reason, it made Al's smile disappear, and the corners of his mouth pulled down sadly.

"Oh, Ed! You hurt the poor kid! You're so mean sometimes!"

"Don't even start with me."

The eldest of them stood up abruptly and pushed past the human, making his way to the front door, stamping his feet like a small child made to go up to his room. Instead though, he was leaving. The door slammed in a second, and the boy cringed in response.

Winry leaned back on the sofa, her arms outstretched over the back of it, soaking up the artificial lamplight. The only light she'd ever be able to be in. "He'll be back soon. Don't worry. He does this almost every night. He just hasn't eaten in a couple days." She pulled a small silver case out of her breast pocket, opened it, and pulled out a long cigarette. She lit it with a lighter that was on the table next to a few scented, burning candles, and took an extensive drag off of it. Her cherry lipstick left a mark around the filter, and she closed her eyes in a contented way.

"I'm," he paused. "I want to go find him. I'll be right back." Al's mind was made up. He needed to get something out of this night. He at least needed his vampire friend to know how he felt. Even if it _did _ruin things between them.

Just as he walked out the door, Winry was saying.

"Not a good idea, kiddo! If he's hungry enough, and you're the only one around, you might not be so lucky!"

He didn't hear it, though.

* * *

End Chapter Five

**Closing Notes: **_Well. . . sorry about not posting in so long. I hope this makes up for it. Urgh. I have so many places I wanna go with this story, but like no way to get there. It's really nerve wracking. Honestly. But um. . . not to give away anything HUGE, but Isaac will be coming back in the next chapter or chapter 7. So, be prepared for some drama. And things are going to start heating up between our boys. You know neither of them can keep their erections in their pants! Haha. Review please. I know you want to. _


	6. Adoration

**Author's Notes: **_So I left the last chapter with a cliffhanger, I haven't posted a new chapter in like a billion years or 5 months or whatever, AND I haven't given you some hot Elric!smex. I'd say I owe you guys big time. Sorry for any inconvenience the lack of this story may have caused. I'm sure you'll get over it. _

**Warnings: **_AU, Elricest, Angst, Vampires, Gore, Violence, Language, Horror, Abuse, Amnesia, ROMANCE. Yadah yadah yadah. Let's get on with it._

* * *

It had started out as a good idea.

Sure, he'd only been out to Rochester once, but he'd spent a good weekend there, and it had given him plenty of time to find his surroundings. He'd learned where major landmarks were, and all the best fast-food joints. He'd learned all the historical parks, and the hotels and those, and he'd loved every minute of it. So when he thought about going after Ed in an act of curiosity and worry, he had figured it wouldn't be too hard. Rochester was a fairly small city. More of a town.

It had started out as a good idea, but with each step he took down unfamiliar streets and alleyways, Alphonse started to grasp the fact that his horribly thought out plan wasn't going to work.

Somewhere between some random street, and the town center, he had begun getting lost, his feet unable to find their way. He had slipped on some pair of shoes that were next to the door, and it was only after he'd walked over a block that he'd noticed they were women's shoes. They were incredibly tight, and made him feel like all the blood in his feet were rushing up to his head. But he didn't dare take them off- he'd just taken a shower, and didn't need any more dirt on his fresh body.

His hair was still wet from the shower, hanging limply over his boyish shoulders, making dark stains in his sweatshirt to signify the presence of the liquid.

An hour had passed since he began looking for Edward, and the search was becoming tedious. All work with no results. Like a hamster on one of those spinning wheels. Poor fucking bastard thinks he's going somewhere, to later find out that all that running was for absolutely nothing. Damn small-brained animals that can't think unless they have an encouragement in the form of food in front of them. Pathetic.

His search led him into downtown Rochester, over four miles from the mansion. But Al couldn't comprehend that distance right now. All he could think about was finding Ed. He'd made a deal with himself-- he was going to tell the vampire how he felt tonight. No more making excuses. It had only been two days since they'd met, but it felt like so much longer. Besides, it was just a crush, right? It wasn't like he was in love . . . right?

Downtown Rochester was a mess of rundown cafes with spray paint marring their brick walls, old Alcoholics Anonymous clubs where the local mental-cases could be with other local mental-cases and share their local mental-case sob stories with people who gave a fuck. There was an old playhouse where the drama nerds were always spending their afternoons, and jewelry shops where all the merchandise was fake. Small restaurants were on every corner, inviting people in for an evening meal. It was about nine or nine thirty now. The streets were crowded with a bunch of punks with mohawks of multi-colors, and dark clothing adorned with chains and bandanas. The majority of them had cigarettes hanging out of the corners of their mouths, and they all looked so fitting. As though the streets of downtown was where they were born to be.

As Alphonse passed by a group of maybe three or four of them, one boy called out to him.

He had deep brown eyes that looked as though they had seen too much in their short time on this earth. His hair hung all about down to his shoulders. It was bleach blond with black ends, and he wore some kind of green eyeliner around his eyes. He was dressed similarly to his companions. "I've never seen you around before. What's a pretty boy like you doing in a place like this? No one 'normal' hangs around downtown this late." His voice was soft, but full of age. It didn't match his face. He sounded much angrier than his face let on.

Al stopped walking, and turned to him, frightened and anxious. "Oh. I'm looking for someone. That's all." He balled his hands into fists at his sides, clenching the long material on his black sweatshirt. He didn't want conflict. He didn't even do anything! Except wear girl shoes, but he doubted that in the subtle street-lamp light the punks could see the shoes.

The boy who spoke to him was passed a cancer-stick, and he took a long drag off of it, and then raised his gaze to stare at Al once more. Letting out a large puff of smoke into the thick air, he smiled in the ghostly way that Al was used to seeing Ed use. "I see." Another drag. "There isn't much nice of us people out in these parts. We're probably the only decent hoods you'll meet. If you get that."

He didn't. The guy had completely just contradicted himself. But Alphonse just nodded like he did when he didn't get something. It saved time.

Smoker boy clenched the cig in-between his teeth and extended a nail-polished, chain-braceleted hand out towards the young bronze-eyed kid. "I'm Arin." He gestured with his head back to the other three; a short red haired girl with drabby looking clothing on, a taller girl with no hair whatsoever, and a noticeable lip ring, and another guy who's hair was in a mohawk dyed all different colors of the rainbow. "That's Joey, Lura, and Matthew. If we ever see you again, we'll say somethin'."

Al gave them all a wary look, and accepted the handshake weakly. Obvious recognition of his weakness suddenly appeared on Arin's face, because he shook back lightly, trying to be polite. These were the nicest . . . _scariest_ looking people he'd ever met! But he saw another group of similar dressed people on the opposite street corner, and they were glaring at them in a death-threat manner. He was grateful he'd chosen to walk on this side of the street, rather than the other one. He was just about to leave when:

"Who're you looking for anyway?" the girl named Joey asked, curiously.

Hesitation. Al's mouth opened, and he'd meant to say something different, but the first words to come out of his mouth turned out to be more of his own wishful thinking. "My boyfriend," and he said it with such confidence that he nearly convinced himself. And about five seconds after it had escaped his lips, he'd realized what an idiot he was and what a stupid thing he had just said.

Matthew made a patronizing, 'Awww,' sound, and Arin gave him a 'Back Off' look.

"That's fine. I mean, we're not homophobic or any shit like that. Lura's a lezzy, and we still love her, ya know?" Arin explained, leaning against the telephone pole. He seemed very comfortable in his own skin, but also a little uneasy with someone new around. He was difficult to read, much like Ed was. "Did you and your boyfriend get into a fight?" he asked boldly.

Al couldn't believe complete strangers were this foreword. It was so weird! But either way, he thought he'd answer. "Sort of. He just ran out all of a sudden. I just hope I didn't make him angry." He was no longer looking at the four of them. Instead his eyes were now focusing intently on the ground, trying to keep himself from becoming hysterical. If something happened to Edward, Al had nowhere to go. He'd pretty much have no purpose anymore. And with the stories Ed had told him, he was pretty scared. He didn't know who could be out there looking for them. "Um, anyway. I have to go. Nice to meet you all. Maybe I'll see you again sometime." He gave them all a smile and a nod of recognition, and then turned to leave.

With that behind him, he kept walking, determined to find his vampire.

The night grew colder.

* * *

The first time Al had seen Ed on the street was only briefly, because he had to do a double take to make sure he saw correctly. The vampire was walking very groggily, almost like he was drunk. His feet barely left the ground when he walked, as though he were dragging them. His arms were folded over his chest, and Al could tell he was shivering. He was far up the street, but not far enough to where details like that weren't noticeable.

He was so shocked that he'd finally caught up that his pace slowed for a passing moment. He was just grateful nothing had happened! Then he began running, trying to approach him, but it seemed as though the closer he got, the farther away Edward would seem. Like he could never be close enough. He tried running faster, but it only resulted in his knees feeling too weak.

And as if Ed could hear his footsteps, he suddenly turned around and looked straight at him with one of the most vulnerable expressions Al had ever seen on anyone. It made him skid to a direct halt, right in front of the one he was following. "What are you doing out here?" The question was so husky and quivering that Al wasn't too sure Ed had actually said it. He looked even paler than before, and he was breathing through his mouth. His hands were holding onto each opposite elbow, the exact vision of insecurity. But it wasn't in this case. He was dying. Slowly.

"I came to find you, you stupid vampire!" Alphonse whispered urgently. "What's the matter with you? You look terrible!" He reached his hand out and softly touched Ed's shaking arm, trying to be empathetic.

He was mildly convulsing and a raspy cough escaped him in a second. When the fit was over, he looked at his friend. "I'm . . . sick. If I don't get blood tonight, I could die. When a vampire is like me, and they're used to drinking every night, it becomes a habit. I drink blood every night," he murmured that part, trying to be discrete. "If I go more than a day or two without blood, it could kill me. It's because my body gets used to relying on blood to survive. That's how most vampires live."

Al grimaced at that. He knew he was the only option at the moment. Edward and Winry didn't like drinking from people in this town unless it was absolutely necessary. And at that time, Al was most convenient. But . . . Ed needed him, right? He needed his help! He wouldn't be that desperate. Would he? "Uh . . . I just . . .um . . " he couldn't even speak. The whole prospect of becoming a meal didn't settle too well inside of him.

Abruptly, Ed pulled the human into the alley next to them, to escape the looks of people in cars and people walking by. It could've been that he was overcautious, but that was highly unlikely. He was ill, horribly ill.

"Hey, what the hell?!" Alphonse exclaimed in surprise. This wasn't going well. He was going to end up as a vampire's appetizer, regardless of how much he was needed. He backed up against the wall, his eyes wide and caught between a mix of anger and fear, and a touch of something else that wasn't quite discernable. "S-stay away . . . please, don't hurt me," and he was cowering inside himself, covering his face with his hands and hunching over to escape some unknown fate. His back slid down the wall half way and he was ready to curl up into a ball (His defense position) until Ed clutched his arm and shook him roughly.

"Snap out of it! I'm not going to hurt you!" He said firmly, trying to stop himself from being too aggressive. "We're going to wait here until someone vulnerable passes by that I can drag in here and feed from. It should be fairly sim--" he coughed a bit and had to pound his fist into his chest to get himself to speak clearly. "Fairly simple," he concluded, his eyes watery.

The boy simply nodded, licking his lips distractedly. He straightened his shoulders, and they maintained eye contact for a very long time. It was as though Ed was waiting for vocalized approval of his decision, but then turned away, leaning into the bricks and peering out behind the corner of the alley. He was waiting.

Meanwhile, Al just stood there thinking. He didn't want to be there. He didn't want to have to witness anything, any killing. Death was too final for him. Too real. And for a kid who'd always lived inside his own fantasy world as an escape, death was too much of a reality for him. Wasn't there a way to avoid this? Couldn't he do something to stop Ed from feeding, but keep him alive? Wasn't there a way he could get blood but not kill?

Deep in thought, the mortal accidentally bit into his lip hard with concentration, and for a fleeting moment he didn't register the pain. And then it hit him, and he could suddenly taste blood on his tongue. It was rich and warm and made him tingle with awareness. The mere thought of his blood and the taste of it brought an interesting idea up in his mind. It probably wouldn't be too affective, but it could at least help a little . . .

Biting down harder on his lip, Al winced, and bronze eyes fell closed under the stinging pain. He kept gnawing and gnawing, trying to tear his flesh more. Blood sloshed around on his taste buds, and he nearly puked from the overwhelming tang. "Ngnn. ." he made a weird sound that was a combination of disgust, throbbing, and anticipation. "E-Ed. . don't do anything just yet," as he spoke, dribbles of red slipped down the side of his mouth and curved beneath his jaw.

This attracted Edward's attention, as he turned around, eyes tired and hungry. "Why?" But he didn't need an answer, because he suddenly observed the redness in his companion's mouth. His slow beating heart jumped into his throat as the comprehension floated aimlessly into his brain. He knew what that blood meant. He knew what Al wanted. (And some part of him had to admit that he wanted it, too.) "You're insane. Clean your mouth off. I'm going to do this the right way." He turned his back on the younger man, and continued observing the quiet streets.

He ached inside from lack of substance, his head becoming heavier than a 20-pound sack of potatoes. If he kept up this resistance, he'd surely fall. There was no way he could do this. It was actually becoming painful!

Al, on the other hand, stood there staring at Ed's back, a determined look on his 17 year-old face. "You're going to die. Drink some from me. Just _do it. _I don't care!" His voice cracked a bit, half out of worry, half out of being scared. "I don't have anywhere to go if something happens to you! Don't you get that?" Tears were slowly forming in his bronze pools, and he had to blink repeatedly to force them back.

Ed growled in irritation, whirling around and glaring at him. "I said _NO!_ I'm not going to do it!" He looked utterly animalistic (A trait that Al had been used to seeing) the way his face was luminous and his optics mysterious and glowing in the darkness of the alleyway. It made him even more frightening and more so beautiful at once.

Sticky red was falling down Alphonse's chin and dripping to his shirt, wasting away when it could've been put to good use. In complete rebellion and defiance, he bit down once again on his tender bottom lip, this time hard enough to draw a yelp from the back of his throat. He heard the disdainful sound Ed made at that, but he kept biting and biting until the blood was gushing into his mouth at full force and it was nauseating.

"Goddammit! Just stop it already! You're going to pass out from blood loss!!" Edward shouted angrily, while he didn't look too intimidating anymore. He looked light-headed and near fainting himself. His stomach churned a bit at the smell of what he needed, but he kept refusing, kept telling himself that he _couldn't _do it. And it took him by surprise when Al's hands found his shirt and tugged at it in a keening way that was tempting him far more than the blood was. "I. . I c-can't." He whispered, shaking his head.

Humans didn't know how very addictive blood was for vampires. How one small taste could set them on fire, and could have them rabid for more. Frothing at the mouth, hungry like a wolf. And just about as determined as one.

And for just a moment, Ed began to forget that too, as his desperation for blood was growing as each moment of the night passed on. And without saying one more word he was grabbing Al's soft face in his hands and pulling him closer, dipping his own head down so their lips could meet hesitantly.

It wasn't like a kiss at first. Edward paused before they touched completely, but moved a little closer until he felt warm liquid on his flesh. It had his desire watering with expectation. Without a second thought or anytime to reconsider he opened his mouth and took Al's lower lip into it, trying to be as careful as possible. The taste of his blood was extraordinary! It was sweet, just like the time he'd sampled it back in Elay city. But that had just been a teaser; this time, Alphonse was letting him take what he needed.

He began sucking a little harder, his hands falling down a bit to grasp onto the tops of the boy's arms, and before he knew it he was shoving him back against the alley wall, desperately using as much suction on that small flesh wound as possible. He couldn't help but think of how very delicate and completely delicious this kid was, and how much he realized he wanted him. More than he had when he had been in the bathroom, more than he had while they had been sitting together on the Fourth Floor, more than ever. He could hear the pounding of Al's heart beating with his own, tasting the beautiful succulence of murky blood filling his dried out veins and making his skin color over.

Alphonse hardly moved at all; He was paralyzed. Every inch of his body felt completely frozen, but wickedly alive all at once. He wanted to press himself into the vampire, at least to convey how much this was a turn on, but his body simply wouldn't move. Except his own hands- they found their way around that slim waist, and slipped into the rear pockets of his jeans, silently encouraging. Well, let's just say that it was more than enough for Edward, who immediately let out something along the lines of a moan, and instantly neglected the spot he had been paying so much attention to.

He had stopped working so hard on Al's lower lip, and suddenly all of his focus was on his mouth altogether. Because in an instant he was shoving the boy even harder into the brick wall, kissing him with ferocity that was to be rivaled.

A scarlet hue covered Al's cheeks in subtle realization, and before his eyes could get any wider, he closed them gently, and did what he thought was 'kissing back.' He certainly wasn't the kind of person who had made out with a ton of people, so this was all too new to him, and was also somewhat of a shock. But the second their tongues brushed in such a way, he felt his insides devour themselves. He was distracted abruptly by how Ed was moving his hands down farther, over the younger boy's hips and to his thighs, rubbing them in a seductive, teasing way. Their bodies pressed close to each other, as Al was moving in against him, wrapping his arms tightly around the vampire's neck, nothing else occupying his mind but, "_Oh my God, why is this happening?" _And how glad he was about it.

But all too soon it ended, and the warmth and taste of blood Ed was getting from repeatedly tangling his tongue with the younger man's disappeared. He had backed away in haste, wiping his mouth free of any access liquid-- both blood _and _saliva that wasn't his own. His body sustained with a nearly sufficient amount of the red substance, Edward's heart was beating quickly. But he suspected that it wasn't only because of the new blood.

There was a short quiet moment between them, and Alphonse, flushed and confused, could only keep his gaze on the dirty and wet ground. Where had all that come from? Certainly Ed must've known that he hadn't been asking for a kiss! He'd only wanted to help! And besides, it was the vampire himself who had initiated the kiss in the first place. But _God, _the things he was doing with his hands was close to unexplainable. He had to stop himself from the urge to put them back and demand that they just keep going. His stomach was in knots with those butterflies he had been getting lately. He couldn't speak.

For Ed, he couldn't believe what had happened. And his own desire was to try again- to attempt to pull that sweet, innocent, delectable boy back into his arms, back into his grasp, and just . . . do everything to him. Oh, how he wanted to drink from him. How he wanted their hearts to synch again like they had literally seconds before. He wanted to be able to freely kiss that tender neck and those smooth shoulders, letting his hands wander anywhere they felt necessary. He wanted to sink his teeth into that perfect skin and taste his blood completely, to pierce one of his vital veins and drink all of his life, all his love and humanity.

But there was an odd sensation that had resided inside him in the midst of their deep kiss. He had noticed a peculiar thing that he'd never noticed with anyone before--

Al was vaguely familiar. No, not vaguely. _Intensely_ familiar.

He was like a strong case of deja vu, a strong delusion, a strong memory. There was something remarkably memorable about Alphonse himself. Something that Ed couldn't pinpoint with even the smallest of detail and meticulous nit picking. In the dark recesses of his deepest inner thoughts and discarded memories, lost with his vampiric amnesia, he remembered Al. He remembered him from something, somewhere. A dream? A far off place he didn't remember visiting? Whatever it was, it was the most prominent feeling of deja vu the man had ever felt before.

And that scared him. No matter how much he craved that boy, or wanted him, there was something that was completely unsettling about feeling _that _familiar about someone. It was like . . .they were one person. That they shared a soul. That was how familiar it was. But still mysterious and unsolved to where he wasn't sure if it was what he thought it was.

However, as much as he felt this deep, deep attraction to the younger man, he had an image to uphold and certainly didn't want anything changing between them this soon. So, being the asshole vampire that he was, Edward sneered at Alphonse with a look of utter superiority and contempt. "Don't think that that meant anything, because it didn't. I just felt like it, okay? Besides, it's not like you were protesting," he looked away, afraid that if Al saw his eyes, he'd know he was lying.

But Al had only just looked up at that point, the red in his face slowly dissipating, and a much more horrible, aching knot had occupied the space in his stomach. It was a residual fear that he hadn't quite made disappear. "Um." That was all he said, all he _could _say at that moment, while tons of other things wanted to come out of his mouth. The most major one?

_I love you. I fucking love you and I have no idea why. You're such a bitch to me, but I love you. _

But at this point, if those words were to escape him, he thought he might just kill himself. Because he didn't want Ed to know just how much that kiss had penetrated his soul, and how much it made him yearn for the vampire. He didn't care anymore if he got killed by the man; at least the passing seconds before he'd die would be the most blissful he'd felt in all his life. That was what he was feeling thus far. But, he too had an image to uphold, and he shrugged in an unenthusiastic way, and finally spoke up, making sure his voice wasn't too shaky.

"Fine by me. You started it anyway. Let's just go back home." And he was so proud of himself by the way he'd said it that a smile momentarily crossed his face, but faded when Ed turned to him. The first look he received was gone within a second, but Al would never forget it-- It was honestly, truly, sincerely a look of sadness, disappointment. Actually, as convinced as Al was that he saw it, it was gone so fast, he never was too sure about it. All he knew is that it set some sort of blue fiery hope inside of him that maybe this wouldn't be the last time that they shared that close proximity.

That maybe some other time he'd be able to feel those lips against his again.

He really hoped that was true.

* * *

The walk back home had been quick and quiet. Neither of them had spoken once, both obviously torn by the incident. When they came through the front door, Edward went directly into the living room where he found Winry reading some old romance novel. Al, on the other hand, went upstairs to his room, trying to avoid any other confrontations with the vampire.

Sighing heavily and sinking into the chair beside the couch Winry was on, Edward's mind was very preoccupied. It was like a never-ending battle within himself!

The blonde girl glanced up at him for a split second, retrieved a rose bookmark from the centerpiece table, placed it between the pages, and set the book down. "Alright. You have my attention," she said with a smile. There was no guarantee that Ed was going to talk to her about what was on his mind, but she figured she'd be a good friend and help out anyway. Besides, if he didn't volunteer the information, she'd beat it out of him.

His legs were crossed like they'd been before, and he looked at her through narrowed gold eyes. He bit on the edge of his tongue and looked away, shaking his head a bit. "I don't know. I swear I'm too old for this shit," he bared his teeth at the wall, magnificent fangs coming into view. Anger, confusion, and such detached affection filled him up inside. This was so new! He hadn't ever had to deal with this before.

Winry's face softened at her friend's distressing manner. Leaning towards him, she smoothed out his bangs that hung around his face. "It's him, isn't it? You're confused about how you feel? I know you like him, Ed, but you have to think about what's going to be best for you both."

They both knew very well how hard it was for humans and vampires to have any sort of relationship. It was almost impossible. There was too much struggle, and too much temptation. Even being friends was a stretch.

For the first time in front of Winry, Ed felt his eyes begin to well up with tears. He looked at her. "I-I. . . could make him one of us. I just . . . feel something so strongly. And I'm not sure what it is. I'm not sure if it's love, or if I feel a protective, maternal sense over him, or if I just have a stupid fucking crush on him. All I know is that there is something so strange about that kid, and I swear to God I'm going to find out what it is."

She let that sink in for a moment. "Can I ask what happened?"

"No."

Scowling, she grabbed him by the collar and yanked him over the edge of the chair so that they were face to face. "Too bad, Ed. Too _fucking_ bad. You're going to tell me, and you're going to tell me NOW."

He just gave her a patronizing smile and pushed her away. "Forget it. It was just something stupid." He paused, and looked at the wall, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. "But I think I want him. I think I found that out tonight. We sort of. . . kissed, I guess." He crinkled his nose; he sounded like a little boy!

Winry smiled.

"And I tasted some of his blood. Don't worry- I didn't bite him or anything; it was on his lip. And there was this strong desire I was feeling-- I wanted to just. . devour him. Everywhere my hands went it was like it wasn't enough. I wanted to touch him beneath his clothing, under all the layers of barrier he puts up. I craved him. And his _blood!_ Oh, Winry, you've never tasted blood like his! It was absolutely perfect! It was like he had sugar in his veins. Like he was completely made of all the sweetest, most amazing blood in the world. I just . . . _fuck, _I want him." Halfway through his little confession, Ed's face had turned a bright red without even noticing. This feeling was like no other, and he wasn't too sure he wanted it to go away.

_Is it even possible for vampires to fall in love? Or. . . to feel any of this affection?_

"Are you in love, Edward?" She chuckled, shoving his shoulder playfully.

He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. It's just a strong feeling of closeness. It's like," he thought for a moment. "It's like he's part of me. Like he's my good, sweet side, and I'm the darker, more harsh side. Like if I were the dark, he'd be the light. Something like that. Haha. I guess he's just intriguing."

Winry grabbed the tin case from her breast pocket again, like she had during their previous conversation when Ed had stormed out. She took a cigarette out and put it between her lips daintily. She handed one to Ed, and he took it with a look of regret.

They both lit up at the same time, and smoke began drifting into the air. A peaceful silence hung between them. And whether Winry wanted to admit it or not, she felt a strong tinge of jealousy about the whole ordeal. I mean, she'd been living with Ed for over a year, and she'd always felt something for him, even if he didn't return those feelings. And now, this kid who'd only been around for a couple days immediately steals his heart and all he can think about is him! It just wasn't fair.

Edward took a drag off of his cigarette, looking fondly at the staircase. _I'm not in love. I'm not in love. He just is so peculiar. How did I ever meet this one person by chance? It was like fate was calling us to each other. All I know is that he's like no one I've ever met. And I don't want to take his life so soon. Maybe . . . maybe after all of it is said and done. Then we might be able to. . . _

He didn't finish the thought.

Little did Ed know that before all of this was said and done, he'd have reconsidered taking Al's life more than once.

* * *

Something Alphonse hadn't noticed before was that there was a large bookcase in the bedroom where he was staying. It was covered in dust and antique figurines, and also quite a few books that were so thick with that dust, that the titles were illegible. There was a tissue box on the nightstand near his bed, and he grabbed at least a dozen from the box and began dusting and cleaning off the wood shelves.

It was obvious that at one point that bookcase must've been really nice. Perhaps when it had been new. But that could've been ages ago. As it was, the dust and filth was so heavy on it that he had to really use some elbow grease. All the accumulation of particles made him sneeze at least twice, and he still hadn't begun dusting the books yet. That was the only reason he was doing this; to achieve some sort of entertainment. If he found a good book at least he'd have something to do. Sure, there was a library in the house, too, but it was cold and dank, and probably didn't have a lot of good stuff in it. Not that these shelves did either, it just seemed to Al that this was more convenient.

The first title he uncovered was a dreary blue book that had gold binding. The title read, "Withering to Pieces." Boy, that sounded like a cheer-fest. The second title wasn't much better, nor was the third or fourth, or fifth. He was at the last book of the bottom shelf when he came to a title that intrigued him.

"Stolen Breath." It sounded like some crappy, sappy novel about some girl getting swept off her feet by the man of her dreams, and whisked away to a wonderful palace in the sky where they could live happily ever after. But, to his surprise (And awkward dismay) it wasn't anything along those lines. In fact, it was about a child who had been abandoned at birth, and was taken from foster home to foster home, and was found one day while he was in his teen's, by a vampire. It literally made Al drop the book he was so shocked. But he figured if Ed and Winry had one vampire book, they probably had more to go with it. So he moved up to the next shelf and cut through the dust on the binding to read off book titles. Some were so familiar it was frightening! Vampire novels lined up the next two shelves, and starting from the top there had been anatomy books, and those frankly scared him. So he pulled out 'Stolen Breath' and sat on the floor against the bed and began reading.

And reading. And reading. And he probably sat there for almost three hours reading, because the next time he glanced at the clock it was almost midnight. Amazing how he could be so utterly engrossed in a book, considering the circumstances weren't much different. He distantly wondered what Ed and Winry were discussing downstairs, and briefly considered eavesdropping. But no, that hadn't done him much good last time, so why would he think this time would be any better?

The truth was, he just wanted an excuse to see Ed again, and not feel awkward. He was confused, too. He wanted to think that this new feeling was love, but he wasn't sure yet. He certainly felt some sort of love for the Vampire, maybe as close friends, or a sympathetic love, but honest to goodness 'Head-Over-Heels-I'm-Falling-Fast-For-You' love? Now that was a whole different story. What he did know, however, is that he was getting more and more great urges to kiss him. To hug him. To . . . it was too much. He couldn't handle this stupid crush or love or whatever it was anymore! He needed release! Whether it be emotional, psychological, or sexual, he didn't care-- he just knew he needed it.

The vampire book didn't help much either. He kept picturing himself as the boy who'd been so lovelorn and lost, and unaware, and then he pictured Edward as the vampire who was such a hero to the kid. Who had picked him up from the ground when he'd lost his footing, more metaphorically than anything.

And Alphonse began feeling very guilty about this whole thing.

Because he _shouldn't _have a crush on the person who murdered his mother. He _shouldn't _lust after someone who was of his same gender. He simply shouldn't be in the same presence as someone who's killed and killed. It was all wrong. But he kept reading, kept dreaming and thinking of how much this author revealed about vampires, even if most of it was quite possibly a bunch fallacies. Every couple minutes though he'd think about how erroneous and corrupted this whole situation was, and how he not only lusted after Edward, but also his freedom. Both of their freedom.

Being in this place made them prisoners. Being _afraid _made them prisoners. Prisoners to a world hardly anyone knew about.

He fiddled with the corner of page 224, and sighed. He wanted to go downstairs and be part of their conversation, and be part of their world, because really, he had nowhere else to go anymore. He had no one to even speak to anymore. And Isaac, well, Isaac was --

_Crack. Clank. Crack crack._

Al looked around the bedroom for the source of the noise, but it didn't even sound like it was coming from inside. It sounded like something outside. He stood up and set the book on the bed, crawling on there as well. He couldn't directly look outside from the window, considering the boards that were covering it, and the black curtains, but he managed to wiggle one finger in a crack between the wood and push aside the side of the curtain. He got a dusty image of the outdoors, and he could see light from the city and lights down the road on lamps. He could just barely see out into the yard and it was clear there was a figure standing there. He couldn't make out who it was through the mildewed window, but it looked familiar. The figure moved and threw another rock at the window. It cracked against the part Al had been looking out of.

He backed up and slid off the bed, zipping up his sweatshirt and slipping on his shoes. In a moment he was downstairs, hearing bits and pieces of Ed and Winry's boring conversation, and he shouted a soft, "I'll be outside for a moment!" He thought he heard Ed say something like, 'Don't run away' or whatever, but he didn't care. He was far too curious.

Outside a light wind had picked up, and it bit with its autumn bite at Al's face, and he tried to look around as best as he could in the mild lack of lighting.

"Hello? Is anyone out here?" He asked quietly, doing his shout/whisper thing that sounded far more urgent that it was supposed to be. There was a slow rustle in a bush a little bit in front of him, and he cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Hello . . .?"

There was a pause, and a darker form rose up out of the hedge, shaking out shaggy black hair that held pine needles and thorns. It clicked instantly, and a huge smile-- wider than Al had remembered smiling in a long time-- formed on the young boy's face.

"ISAAC!" He practically screamed, and dashed over to his best friend. At that moment, he felt that absolutely nothing in the world had changed as he embraced him tightly, forgetting all the problems that had formed in his life. "Oh my God! How did you find me, how did you find me, how did you find me?" Came the urgent question, but in a happy way.

Isaac on the other hand, was a little taken aback, and he stepped away a little, not quite removing the latch of arms around him. "Uh. . Hey, Al." He gave a distant laugh, and tried to smile, too. It was troubling. He didn't exactly hug his younger friend back, but he patted his head, regardless. "I followed you. I couldn't help it. I didn't want to lose you, and I had the horrible feeling that it would've been the last time I'd see you, if I didn't at least _try _to see where you were going."

That came as somewhat of a shocker to him. Al had _told_ Isaac to stay back, and that he'd come for him again soon. Even if it _would've _been the last time they'd see one another, it didn't matter- he'd warned him. Simultaneously, a strange thought occurred, and Alphonse didn't like the feeling of it, because of the possibility that it could be true.

(_He could've led them to us. He could be working with them. I could've just put Edward and Winry in danger.)_

But he shook his head and put on another happy grin, hugging his friend once more for good measure. "I don't want to lose you either, Isaac, but I need to be here." He pulled away and this time the smile was more saddening that anything else. "It's not good that you're here. I probably shouldn't even be outside myself, but I had to come see what was going on. I'm glad it was you, but--"

"Is he treating you right? Is everything okay? He hasn't hurt you, has he?" Isaac's questions burst from him with such intensity and concern that Al was momentarily silenced. It never ceased to amaze him how much that boy cared for him.

"It's fine, really. I'm a little scared at times, but other than that, it's fine. It feels like these past 3 days have dragged on forever, though." Alphonse neglected to mention _anything_ about how he felt for Ed, for fear of hurting his best friend's feelings. It wasn't his fault he couldn't return Isaac's affection! He never would be able to. They were too close, too much proximity, and not enough romantic chemistry. And Ed had stolen his heart, even (now that he thought about it) at first glance. He just hadn't noticed it right away. Fear had blocked it out.

Regardless, he said nothing about the kiss or the hunting tonight that had ended up in Ed drinking from him.

(Which made him think about something peculiar- Edward drank from him, so technically he should be a vampire. But not quite- because Ed didn't _bite_ him. If that were the case, he'd already be feeling it. That was common vampire knowledge, and Al had a bit of that.)

There was a noise a little bit away, and Al put his hands on Isaac's shoulders, looking at him with a stern expression. "You should go. I don't want to put you in any danger, so please, leave this place. Never ever come back. I swear I'll try and make contact with you, but right now it's a little difficult. I'll try and stay safe, too. I promise!"

During this conversation, Alphonse had seemed to forget about the fact that his identity was in the newspaper, and all his information, and that people would be looking for him. _AND _that someone had leaked that information to the police, and he still didn't know whom. But of course, that didn't even occur to him right then, and he didn't say a word to Isaac about it, even though that would've been the smartest thing to say, rather than making false promises that he might not be able to keep.

The manor moaned high up above them, and Al shot a look back at the huge doors with the gargoyle knockers. The stone steps were still covered with wet leaves and the place once more took on a threatening look. But this time, it wasn't aimed towards Al- it was towards Isaac.

"When will I see you again?" Isaac asked, grabbing Al's face and looking at him with desperation.

"I don't know."

Stillness. Then; "Come with me. We can get you out of here. We can go someplace else! I'll get you out of this trouble! You'll never have to hear the word 'Vampire' again!"

Alphonse looked at his friend with some sort of unidentifiable look of confusion mingled with hope. Hope for something he knew was impossible. "N-no, I-I can't . . . He'd--"

With one swift movement, Isaac was already hauling the younger male by both of his arms out of the yard, and towards the street. Despite Al's protests and struggling, he was naturally weaker than his friend and couldn't put up an adequate fight to break away. But he succeeded in making enough noise, because in a moment, one of the huge oak doors swung open with that ominous creak and light from inside the house flooded out onto the stone steps.

Isaac stopped what he was doing and they both turned their gaze towards the door.

Edward was leaning very casually against the doorframe, a small smirk on his lips and his eyes narrowed dangerously at the two of them. Even through the lack of light outside, both boys could see the bright shine from Ed's golden optics. "Hey, kid!" he snapped suddenly at Isaac, the smirk gone. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Walking away with _my _commodity?"

Isaac gulped pretty loudly, his hands abandoning Al's arms and his face pale with fear. Al wanted to run at Ed to get away from Isaac, because frankly, he was talking like a crazy person. And he wanted to stay here, anyway. But his legs wouldn't move, and in a second, Ed wasn't even near the door anymore, he was directly behind them.

He grabbed harshly at Al's hair that was still unbound, and then at Isaac's jet-black short hair, bringing him to his knees, and pushing him forward so he fell to the grass. He still had Al, however, and wasn't letting up at all, or doing anything, just holding him by his hair, ensuring that he wouldn't move.

"Get the fuck out of here! _Go! _Before he does anything worse!" Alphonse cried, his face angry and torn between the two males.

Ed yanked harder on his hair, pulling him back a bit. Isaac turned over on the grass and shot a daring, deathly look towards Ed, his teeth bared and his jaw tense. But he said nothing in return. Instead, he clambered to his feet and ran away as fast as possible.

Al's back hit the vampire's chest as he was pulled backwards once more. "That hurts, dammit! STOP!" He tried to tear himself away, but Ed was far stronger than even Isaac was. Then he felt lips brush slightly against his neck with the words they spoke;

"What did I tell you about_ not _running away?" he whispered venomously. "And here you are, ready to run off with your best friend and leave me here with no manner of defense. Is_ that _how you repay me for sparing your life on _countless _occasions? Just what the fuck did you think you were doing? I shouldn't be this forgiving!"

Those fingers dug into his scalp and Al's head leaned back and fell against Edward's shoulder, exposing his neck fully. "I wasn't running away! He was pulling me! He wanted me to leave, but I wasn't going to! I promise!_ I promise!"_ He yelled, fighting for his life with all the truth he could muster. "I wouldn't leave you! I wouldn't and I wont! I don't have anywhere to go with him! He can't protect me like you can. He can't shelter me from anyone who wants me in jail because they think _I _killed my mother!" Strong streams of tears were pouring down his cheeks and his eyes were closed.

_If it just ended now, I don't think I'd care very much. Just what am I living for? Helping someone who killed my mom? What's the point?_

But those thoughts rattled away as Edward did the same thing to Alphonse that he had to Isaac- he pushed him foreword so that he landed harshly on the grass, staining his jeans and his palms, which had managed to catch his landing. He lay there for a long moment, well aware that Ed was still behind him. The grass smelled of fertilizer, and he was trying not to breath to heavily. Any noise seemed blasphemous at this point. Then he heard the vampire step near him, by his legs, and he felt a hand grab the back of his jeans, hauling him back to his feet with a powerful tug.

Al turned to the other man, his eyes wide with fright that had seemed to egg its way into him and overfill his every nerve. "I-I- . . I . . " he couldn't speak. All he could manage was jumbled up vowels and consonants, and stutters and mumbles. He could hardly look Ed in the face.

"_Get inside." _Ed said calmly. And when Al didn't move; _"GO! _Don't make me tell you twice!" He spat with frustration.

The younger didn't need any more prompting. He immediately turned around and ran up the slick stone steps and threw open one of the doors, not bothering to check if Edward was following him or not.

But he was, because when they got into the foyer, Ed closed the door gently behind them. They could hear Winry flipping through a book in the living room.

Al kept backing up till his back reached the banister of the staircase, and just when he thought it was safe to turn and run up the stairs, Ed stopped him with:

"_DON'T_ go upstairs. Go into the living room and sit your ass down. I can't afford for you to be out of my sight." He said, disdain clear in his voice.

There was a brief second of hesitance where Alphonse couldn't decide whether or not to listen. But his common sense told him he'd better listen or else he'd find himself with two puncture wounds and a vampire sucking his neck to death. Not that that seemed completely _terrible, _he just didn't want to die yet. "O-ok-okay . . ." he slowly slipped past the man and made his way into the living room.

Winry glanced up from her book with cautious cerulean eyes, and she placed the bookmark in it and set it down. She wasn't sure if Al was going to sit next to her, or if he'd take the couch across the room.

He chose the couch across the room.

Ed stalked back in and threw himself down on the chair he usually sat in. He looked like he had a terrible headache, and he covered his face with his hands and let out a long, agonizing groan. "Can't we just kill him, Winry? He's more trouble than he's worth."

The blonde girl's face contorted with an expression of confusion and amusement, and she looked over at Alphonse with a look of interest at what he would say to what Ed had said. "You know, I don't think he appreciates us talking about him while he's sitting in the same room."

"It's o-okay. I don't care if you kill me. I suppose I'm pretty much worthless at this point." Al looked down at his hands, folded in his lap, his lips pressed into a thin white line, and his eyebrows knitting in hurt. He was trying not to cry again, but it wasn't working that well.

And then Edward looked up again, and he looked genuinely sorry for what he said, seeing how it affected the mortal boy. "You weren't really going to run away, were you?" he asked incredulously, nearly silent.

All the kid could do was shake his head pathetically.

Winry slid her eyes back and forth between them, grabbed her book, and roughly hit Ed over the head with it. "YOU IDIOT! OF _COURSE _HE WASN'T GOING TO RUN AWAY! Jesus Christ, Edward! Even _I _can tell that he feels safer here! He wouldn't be able to survive on his own without us! He's a wanted criminal remember!?"

"Yeah, for something I didn't even do." It was Al's turn to sound venomous as he sent a death-glare at Ed.

The male vampire, meanwhile, was rubbing his head where Winry had hit him. "Do you have to be so violent?"

"Oh, like you're not! Fucking idiot!"

"Call me that one more time, and I swear to fuck I'll removed your sex organs, bitch!"

The rest of their argument seemed to drift into a blur for Alphonse as he sat there listening to them. But he wasn't _really_ listening; he was just hearing, not comprehending. He kept his eyes down, and every few seconds a tear would drip from one. He didn't know why he was crying, or how to stop, but everything just seemed very, very sad at this point.

He wasn't sure if it was because he'd missed his chance to escape, or if it was the realization that he _wanted _to stay that made him sad. Either way, he knew one thing for sure:

He was in love with Edward.

For what reason, he wasn't positive, but something inside of him just told him he was.

And for now, that was what kept him going.

* * *

End Chapter Six

**Closing Notes: **_Fuck, this chapter kicked my ass. Mainly because I picked it up half way through after five months of neglecting it, and second because I wasn't sure what to write for some parts. I'm still not completely sure what future chapters hold. I can hardly remember what my initial plan for this story was, because it's taken me so long to get back into Fullmetal. _

_Anyway, chapter seven is coming up next, and I'd really like some feedback from those of you who read this chapter. _

_And and and I just wanted to clarify that NO, Al didn't just BITE his lip. He MASSACRED it. He had to tear his lip up like HELLA to produce enough blood to sustain Ed for a little while. Because in all rationality, a little bite would NEVER get enough blood to come out. He had to RIP and TEAR at the skin. Yeah._

_Also, I'm so sorry to those of you who had to wait so long for an update. My life became hectic, and my boyfriend is very, very time consuming. Blame him, not me. Ha ha. No, blame me. I could've written if I wanted to, I just didn't find the inspiration till 5 days ago. Cleaning your room and finding old stories really kicks your Elricest love into high gear! _

_Well, I'll stop rambling. _

_Review, please? Thank you._


	7. Augmentation

**Author's Notes: **_Finally, I'm at chapter seven. So, I've been considering this chapter for a while, trying to decide whether or not I should make it longer, or leave it at it's current length, and save more for later chapters. I decided I liked it the way it was, so it stayed that way. I hope it meets everyone's standards. _

**Warnings: **_AU (Alternate Universe, dear), __E-L-R-I-C-E-S-T__ , Angst, Vampires, Gore, Blood, Violence, Inappropriate Language, Horror, Abuse, Amnesia, and whaddya know? Romance. _

_I'm pleased to present to you, chapter 7. _

* * *

"Did you see him?" The cold, deep voice asked. His words echoed in the warehouse, reverberating off of the metal walls. There were muffled coughs and snickers from the other men in the building.

Isaac clutched his elbows in either hand, looking down to avoid those vacant eyes that were still visible even in the absence of light. How did he get himself into this mess anyway? "Yes, sir, I did."

"_And?_ What did he look like? Did he look healthy? Was he strong?" The voice questioned.

The boy's face darkened. "I couldn't get a clear reading. He forced me away. You _promised _that if I got my friend, he'd weaken! You fucking told me I'd have him! You told me he'd be mine!" Isaac screamed, his shoulders shaking heavily with the anger he'd held inside.

The man chuckled. "Patience, my boy. Patience. In time everything you seek will be yours. I just need your end of our deal to be complete. It will take time, but you _must _keep your tongue where it belongs, or else--"

A hand shut over Isaac's mouth, and grimy fingers pried his mouth open, grabbing his tongue harshly.

"Or else you just might lose it. We wouldn't want that, would we?" The voice inquired devilishly.

Isaac's stomach crumpled inside of him, and he squirmed. The other man who was behind him let out an icy laugh and released his tongue, and he heard a soft swish as a pocket knife was closed and put to rest. "You better _fucking _keep your word then, as well. Or else I'll back out. I'll tell them everything!" He yelled, hands clenching, just wishing they could swing and knock that arrogant head off the hunched shoulders it sat on. "I'll show you where they are. Do what you want with the vampires, as long as I get _him. _That was our agreement, was it not?"

Another chuckle. "Yes, boy. It was. But how do I know you're not leading us all into a trap?"

The teen produced his own laugh, more of a scoff if anything. "Believe me; I want those vampires dead just as much as you do." He removed himself from his seat and walked over to the dusty window in the warehouse, looking out at the moon covered street. He had no clue what city he was in; he was simply taken here.

He smiled to himself. "_Just as much as you do." _

* * *

_"She doesn't even take care of you anymore! She's too busy getting drugged in her bedroom." _

_  
Amber gold eyes._

_"Mom!"_

_"Brother, no! You can't take him!! You CAN'T!"_

_"ALPHONSE!" _

_. . . finality and solemn truth that lay in the slam of the front door. _

That was the last time that Edward and Alphonse had seen each other. It happened by complete accident, fate, and destiny that their paths just so happened to cross at the most unlikely, perfect time in their lives.

But all recollection of their family ties to one another were completely lost.

Ed lost his recollection because of his his newborn immortal quality through being one of the undead.

And Al lost his because of thoughts fed into his mind. _You never had any other family. Your father left us. You're an only child- now and forever._

So many things Trisha Elric had said to Alphonse to make him believe none of it ever existed.

And now, eleven years later, the two males have had their strings tied together once more, and their trails are leading to the same destination.

See, there are two problems with that scenario, though;

One, neither of them _know _exactly what their destination is.

And second, without even being aware that they come from the same blood, they have both developed involuntary infatuations for one another.

But slowly, fragments of memories have been filtering back to them both, without their knowledge or recognition. Bits and pieces of who they once were are flying to them like messenger birds returning home after eleven strenuous years.

Eventually, the puzzle will become complete.

* * *

A nauseating cloud of dust flew from the suitcase when Edward threw it on Alphonse's bed. Whether the dust came from the suitcase itself, or rather from the bed, neither of them had a clue. (Though, Al expected it came from the suitcase; He'd been trying his best to keep his room dust free in the 6 days he'd already been living there.)

"Start packing." Ed said simply, gold eyes staring vacantly at the travel case. He'd known for some time that they had to get a move on, start traveling someplace different, someplace where they couldn't be located by Hohenheim and his followers- both mortal and immortal alike.

When Al made no move to begin his instructions, Edward yanked open a drawer and began throwing clothes into the case without any care or form of organization. All the clothes that the boy owned were Ed's; items that he'd been borrowing in his absence of clothing. Being as how he left his backpack somewhere on the streets in Elay City, he had come completely unprepared-- no toothbrush, no _brush_ period, no clean underwear (Even though it was nice to be wearing Ed's-- a fact he would never admit out loud), and none of his favorite shampoo or anything! It was simply horrendous. He hated living like this.

But he had to do what he set out to do; to help Edward. Though he had a few more things he needed to accomplish along the way. One of them being regaining his lost memory of the first 6 years of his life. Or at least . . . what happened in that sixth year. He didn't remember anything before the age of maybe 7 or 8. Stress and time and his mother's influence had corrupted his memory pattern.

As it was, he was still busy worrying about what would come of his relationship with Ed. (Or lack thereof.) That was another thing he needed to accomplish. By the time this whole journey was over, Edward would be his. He was going to make sure of that. Even if it meant he himself becoming a vampire. He wouldn't mind that too much; the prospect of spending eternity with someone as amazing as the immortal man was a prospect he would welcome with arms (And legs) wide open. He could even handle the sucking blood part. (If he didn't have to do it EVERY night.)

The clothes only filled about a quarter of the suitcase, and apparently during Al's musings, Ed had already ran to the bathroom and come back with shampoo, conditioner, AND a spare toothbrush and toothpaste that seemed to have come out of no where. Those things joined the _'multitude' _(sarcasm, of course) of clothing in the bag.

"Is there anything else I could possibly need?" Al asked, genuinely.

His companion smirked one of those wily smirks that the younger man had become very used to seeing. "Why? Do you wanna pack your man-purse too? I'm sure I've got a box of tampons somewhere around here..."

The very jesting of the vampire seemed to set the boy's blood on fire. "Well, at least I know if I end up using a tampon, you'll probably boil some water, and utilize the used-tampon as a tea bag." He fired back; ready to compete with whatever Ed had to throw at him.

This had become normal routine to them- usually it started with Al asking a serious question (typically a rhetorical one) and the elder coming back with some smart-ass comment. It almost ALWAYS ended, however, with Alphonse being the overall clever one, and shooting some kind of OTHER smart-ass comment back at the vampire. It was fun, but frequently ended up with one of them being completely and terminally angry with the other person.

Then, catching Al off guard, Edward threw something at him. Looking down into his hand, the boy realized it was deodorant. His head rushed, and for a passing moment, he was back in his room, the night he and Edward met, and the same exact thing had happened.

_Tossing it to the other boy, he grinned. "Even if you do like guys, it doesn't matter much to me. After I'm through with you there won't be much for you to worry about. We'll find a way to hide the thing with your mom's death."_

Then he came back to his senses, and looked down at the tube in his hand. It was mint scented. Same as the one that had been in the backpack he'd left in the city. But not even bothering with that thought, he suddenly felt a great amount of anger build up inside his thin body. He raised his eyes to meet Edward's gold, piercing gaze, and immediately the older of the two could see flames burning in those bronze orbs.

"I just realized something, _Edward." _Alphonse commented, using extra emphasis on the man's name to prove the point that he was, indeed, quite pissed off. "You practically _promised _me you'd hide my mother's death. You told me _everything_ would be okay! And then you fucking FORGOT?!" He dropped the deodorant, and his fists clenched, ready to strike.

Shock passed over Ed's face, and then it was quickly replaced with his own amount of anger. "Maybe if you hadn't run away, I _would've _remembered! But NO! You had to give in to your little sick fear of me killing you, and like the PUSSY that you are, you ran away! So fuck that! I'm not taking all the blame for the fact that _YOUR ASS _is practically grass, AND a wanted criminal. Furthermore, it's completely STUPID to believe anything I have to say; most of the time I'm lying about everything---"

That was when the string snapped cleanly in two separate pieces. And that was also the last word that Ed would say on the matter, because in the split second between "everything" and whatever the next word he would've said was, Alphonse tightened his hand even more, pulled back his arm, and thrust his fist straight into the other's jaw.

Ed lost his balance, and stumbled backwards into the nightstand, knocking the lamp off of it, and causing it to break into a million little pieces of porcelain. The color of the lamp was very similar to a vampire's skin, and that only pissed Al off more. As soon as he realized that he hadn't knocked Ed out, he was going at him again, this time with his opposite fist, with a punch to his stomach.

Cough; slight groan.

"Just what ELSE have you been lying to me about, Ed? What else?! If I can't trust you, then how the hell do I know that you're not going to kill me when we leave here? How do I know it's not all an excuse?!" Alphonse yelled, fighting back those furious tears that always threatened to push through his barrier.

There was no reply to what he said. Instead, the vampire looked up at him, sheer fury burning on his face. Al would have to learn the hard way why it's not good to hit a vampire.

He stood straight up, not breaking the strong glare he had going on the younger male, and without hesitation, he pushed him terribly hard so that he fell backwards on his tailbone against the cold wood floor.

Alphonse's face was completely different now; no longer angry, but only undeniable fear written all the way across it, and he backed up as fast as he could, ramming his back into the book case, a few books falling off and scattering around him.

Edward advanced on him, and grabbed him by his shirt, yanking him back to his feet, and pushing him onto the bed.

(For some reason that was kind of a turn on to them both, but at this point and time, that feeling was immediately ignored.)

Al landed hard, his head hitting against the boarded up window, and he was almost positive the back of his brain was impaled by a loose nail or something. But it wasn't, because he moved pretty quickly away from the wall, scrambling to get off the bed and out the bedroom door. As he attempted this, he watched Ed swish his hand in the direction of the door, and it instantly closed without being touched at all.

"Ed... Edward..." Al meekly tried to force out of his throat, but all of a sudden his mouth seemed very dry and almost empty. His fear intensified about 7 fold when the vampire grabbed him by his shoulders forcing him down on the bed with a rough push. He hadn't even realized Ed was on the bed, either, till that happened.

_Fuck! I never should have done that! What if he kills me? What if he rapes me?! Well . . . that wouldn't be TOO bad. You can't really rape the willing after all. _

But no, there was too much violence going on for there to be rape. Chances were, Al was going to get killed. At least, that's how he saw it. In a second, a cold hand was around his throat and another was across his mouth. He tried to scream but all that came out was a muffled noise that lacked coherency.

"I'm going to show you why little boys shouldn't play with vampires." That sexy, wonderful voice was so completely void of any emotion whatsoever that the very breath of his words against Al's neck made the young man's veins run dry, and his whole body incredibly colorless.

Al's hands were busy trying to pry the vampire's hands off of him, but it was absolutely no use. Even if he used all the strength he had (not that there was much) it still wouldn't make a difference; he was fighting someone _immortal _for God's sake! There was no competition.

Instead, he moved his nearly lifeless bronze eyes to look at Edward one last time, and they just so happened to catch each other's gaze exactly at the same moment.

Something remarkable happened right then. A very large, unidentifiable feeling ran down the vampire's back, and down through his legs (which were straddling Al), filling him with the strangest of emotions. Remorse maybe? Guilt?

His grip lessened and lessened until finally he relinquished his hold on the boy's throat and mouth altogether.

They were stuck staring at each other for what felt like an eternity.

And then the anger returned to Al full force (mainly because he knew that Ed had just been about to kill him) and he balled up his fist again, just about to swing. When he did, the other male grabbed his hand and forced it back to the bed, right next to his head. When he tried a second time with the other fist, the same thing happened, until Edward had him entirely unable to move.

"Let. Me. GO." Alphonse said dangerously, his words coming out like venom.

_"No."_

"LET ME GO." He tried again. "Let me go, or I swear I'll fucking make you wish you killed me the first time."

Ed leaned close to his companion's face this time, their noses practically touching. "Really? I don't think you're in a position to be making threats like that, little boy. Need I remind you-" he tightened his grip on Al's fists, and the pop of a few cracking knuckles became apparent- "That _I'm _the one who has _you _pinned."

Al's heart raced. Had the circumstances not been what they were, this would've been so fucking arousing. But, however, the circumstances _were _what they were, and his life was on the line. But there was something a little different about this threat than the last one. He knew with every fiber in his being that Ed's intention had been to kill him just moments before. But this time, it wasn't clear what his intention was. Then again, that's how most things worked with Edward. You never could tell what he was thinking.

"Now, the way I see it, I have two options." The man said, gently drumming his fingertips across Al's knuckles. "I could kill you right now, and never have to see you or think of you ever again. You could be easily replaced. Or I could let you go, and we could pretend this never happened. And you see, the problem is, I really like the first option. The only issue with that is the fact that it would take me unnecessary time and energy to find a duplicate of you to help me out. Time I really don't have to be wasting."

There was a slight pause, and gold eyes were on the mortal again, a sinister glint in them.

"But, there's a third option, too. I could just seriously break your fingers, and your wrists, and you'll never dream of hitting me again." With those words, Ed brought one frail hand of Al's up to his lips, and very softly kissed the inside of his wrist, all the way up his palm, and to the very tip of his middle finger. He knew Al wouldn't move- he was far too petrified. "But, why would I ruin such perfection? Why? Because, these _'perfect' _hands bruised my _'perfect' _jaw line. And I'm a little Old-Testament myself; an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, right, little one?"

Alphonse gulped. "Wh-what are you going to do?" His voice was so different; he didn't sound anything like himself. He sounded like a scared little child, hiding underneath the blankets from the boogieman.

Edward smirked with the devil lining every curve of it. "That's the million-dollar question, isn't it?" He raised an eyebrow. "You're not supposed to know till it happens. And if you knew, that would take all of my fun away. And we wouldn't want that, would we?"

The mortal shook his head.

"See? Now you're acting like a good little boy. Why couldn't you be like this before? We could've avoided this whole issue. And then I wouldn't have to break your fingers. Or your frail, delicate, beautiful little wrists, would I?"

Every inch of Al's body was frozen still. He was afraid even the slightest move would end up in pain for him someway or another. He blinked very slowly, and he could feel his eyelashes tickle the tops of his cheeks as he did so. "N-no. You, you wouldn't." He figured now, the only thing left for him to do was to agree with everything Ed said. He might actually live if he did that.

There was a soft, patronizing sigh that escaped the vampire's lips. He brought Al's hand back up to his lips for the second time, but this time rather than kissing it, he looked at it for a long while, in a considering way. "What a shame. That such gorgeous hands have to be rippled with bruises and broken bones. But then again, I'm sure you can probably see a pretty decent bruise on my jaw, as well. Oh, and maybe my _stomach, _too." He absently rubbed his thumb into the boys palm, making small circles, but also pressing his fingernail inside the skin as hard as he possibly could.

That produced a small cry from the depths of Al's throat- as dry and as barren as it was. And that seemed to half-satisfy Ed; because he gave the boy a very strange look, accompanied by another wayward smirk.

His nail had drawn blood from pressure and puncture, and Edward carefully licked it away, making sure not to waste a drop of that amazing delicacy of substance. "Remarkable. Never ceases to amaze me how very pure your blood tastes. Something so different than any other blood I've tasted." For a moment, he almost looked taken by the thought, but it was only a facade.

He quickly pinned the boy's hand back to the bed underneath his force, and they were right back at looking at each other.

The only thing the younger male wished was that if Ed intended to break some bones, he better hurry up, otherwise the kid was going to pass out from anxiety attacks.

It was already starting to set in. His vision was going all misty, and then it would slowly come back, but then go right back to being misty. He was starting to feel heart-murmurs in his chest, (and of course COMPLETELY unnecessary butterflies in his stomach for GOD KNOWS what reason!) and then the tears were back, too. They began pouring down his cheeks, but his face didn't change at all. It remained solid and determined, yet fearful all at once. He strained not to show any type of sadness or anything of that sort.

The tears didn't stop. Edward had said something, but Al had been too caught up in his fear.

Then there was a wet sensation; and it wasn't from the tears.

The vampire had, with exceeding care, begun to lick the tears from Al's face, almost purring as he did it.

It set the feeling back into the boy's body, and gave him strange tingles all over. He wished his hands were free- he'd be pushing them up underneath Ed's shirt, feeling that luxuriously soft skin and then maybe bringing them back down to his waist to unbutton his jeans, and then--

But that thought was cut short when the feeling of that soft tongue was no longer on his cheek. There was the supple and warm feeling of breath going into his ear, and Al realized then exactly where Ed's mouth had traveled;

His neck.

Then words came, sexy, just like they had been before. But still ever so dangerous; "I don't think you realize the magnitude of where I am. I hold your very life in my hands right now. And I think you take that for granted."

"I don't. I swear I don't!" Al whispered weakly. "I just want to be able to live! I _do _want to help you! I want to make sure you live, too! I want to stop your father from hurting you anymore. I just want to--"

"Shut up."

"NO! You need to listen to me; I need to say this, before I never get the chance to. I need you to know how much I want to help, and the reason is because I---"

"SHUT UP!" This time it was louder, and it cut Al off right away. But the words weren't the only thing that cut him off.

A pair of slightly parted, determined lips firmly pressed against his own, and Alphonse could've sworn he made a faint squeaking noise. If he did, it hadn't been heard.

Edward was way to busy trying to kiss the boy than to notice any trivial noises.

Al couldn't help but wonder; Why was this happening? Why? Again?

He closed his eyes and slowly kissed back, opening his mouth a bit. But no tongue came. Instead, Edward was nibbling at Al's bottom lip, very softly, pulling on it a little, then kissing it gently. But all gentleness went away after that. The tension had built too high, and the vampire suddenly was kissing the mortal with as much energy as he could. His hands had abandoned Al's wrists, and had moved to cup his jaw, turning the younger man's head so that their kisses would be more languid.

There was tongue, and nipping at lips, and gasping for breath, then more kissing, and their fury and fear had suddenly turned into passion and want. This whole ordeal had been pretty sexual anyway, even without the kisses. But this was pretty much the icing on the cake.

Edward pulled back, looking down at Al with the softest expression that the younger had ever seen on the man. He was rubbing Al's cheek with his thumb in the same circles that had been on his palm moments before. But this time the intention was not to draw blood. It was a purely loving movement.

Somewhere in the midst of this, Al's hands had ended up on Ed's back. How? He had no clue, but they just had.

"Ed. . . I . . . I don't understand. You don't make any sense at all." Alphonse leaned into the warm touch on his face, his eyes closed. "You told me before that this isn't what you wanted. That night in the alley? You told me that you only did it because you felt like it. Not because there was any motive or anything like that behind it. So then . . . why are you kissing me? Why are you . . ." He paused, and decided not to finish his question.

"Go on..."

"Nevermind."

"Al, you went to point A, now go to point B."

A few seconds left of hesitation, and then a quiet kiss was placed on Al's lips once more.

"Just say it." Edward whispered. "Just say what you were going to say."

"Why are you treating me like... I'm... like I'm your lover? Why are you touching me like you care about me? Do you just want to use me? Look, I know I'm weak and all, but that doesn't mean you can use me as a toy or anything! I agreed to help you with your dad and stuff; I did NOT agree to help you get your rocks off." He murmured in a hushed manner.

Ed had no clue what to say. He'd been fighting with these emotions for days. They had been killing him. Ever since the alley incident, he'd been killing himself over this. He'd been wanting so badly to just kiss Al every chance he got. Even do more than kiss him. He wanted every last bit of that boy. And he was really starting to believe that this emotion he was feeling could quite possibly be love. But he was so scared to admit that to himself. He was so scared to open himself up. He was so scared to love and be loved, because maybe that would mean he could hurt and be hurt.

And he had no clue how to tell Al any of this. He wanted to just reach out and grab the sides of his face, kiss him strongly on his mouth, pull back and just say, "I love you so damn much. I want you to be a part of me. I want you to be only mine." But what if Al was confused to? What if he wasn't sure it was love either?

Maybe they were both just horny teenagers looking for sexual release?

"Al . . ." He began slowly, trying to decide a way to put this without sounding like a complete fruit-cake, but also sounding sincere at the same time. "I . . . don't know what's going on. I know I'm not using you. I just don't know what this is yet. I know I really like-- no, it's more than that. There's just something different about you. I think that's why sometimes, I mix aggression and anger with these feelings of lo-- of _desire _and want. I can't ever figure out a way to show those feelings, so the anger gets in the way out of frustration and confusion. But at the same time, I think I'm falling---"

There was a knock on the bedroom door, and then a soft female voice; steady but suspicious.

"Edward? Alphonse? Are you both ready to leave? I've packed you some things in case you get hungry along the way. Ed, there's about 5 thermoses of cold blood in the cooler; that way you don't have to find anyone in particular and you can keep a low profile. Is that okay? Jesus, what are you guys doing in there anyway?" The door started to creak open.

And then, Ed really _was _falling. He landed hard on the wood floor, his head knocking into the nightstand along the way. Al shot up straight on the bed so he wasn't lying down anymore, and so things wouldn't look as . . . strange.

Winry stood in the doorway, her long blonde hair held up in a tie. She wore a faded pair of jeans and a red short sleeved tee shirt. She screwed her face up in a look of bewilderment. "What the hell?"

"Ouch. Fuck! My head. . ." The male vampire whined, rubbing at a newly forming bruise that was appearing on his forehead. However, a part of him was internally happy that Winry had knocked on the door; he had about to say something that he was sure he would regret. She had saved him from complete humiliation, and for that he was grateful.

Though, Al on the other hand, was kept wondering just what in the world the blonde was going to say to him before that obtrusive knock had sounded on the door. For DAYS he'd been hoping that there would be a certain amount of clarity as to what, exactly, was going on between the two of them. And _just _when that clarity was coming out of Ed's mouth, fucking Winry had to go and screw it up. He had taken a liking to the girl, but sometimes, she really got in the way.

_Oh well, _he mused silently to himself. _Maybe this trip will be good for Edward and I. Maybe we'll finally get something accomplished as far as our . . . "feelings" go. _

He was still apprehensive though.

Alphonse wasn't sure where he was going, who he was going to meet, if he'd make it out alive, or if he'd be able to protect Ed like his job had been all along.

_"You can . . . come with me." _

Those words. The exact words Edward had spoken the night his mother was killed. Later, he explained to Al about how he'd need someone to watch over him as he slept, mainly because he knew his father had mortal friends who could attack him during the day while he was in his weakest state.

The boy would never forgive himself if he were to fail in protecting his own protector. He needed to be there for Ed during this trip. It would just be the two of them from here on out.

No destination was in sight (As far as Al knew). All he could do was trust Ed to lead him where they were supposed to be.

It was like those drama kids. They would be paired off into teams of two. One team member would stand behind the other (A good two or three feet away from them) and the other team member would have to close their eyes and fall back, trusting the other member to catch them.

That was how Al had to view Ed. If one of them fell, they'd have to rely on the other person to make sure they caught a hold of them in time.

He wasn't positive if he'd be able to do that, but by God, he'd try.

From now on, he was going to have to trust Edward with everything; his life, his purpose, his belongings, his safety, and even his heart.

Because after all of that, Alphonse finally decided who he'd give it to.

* * *

-End Chapter Seven.

**Closing Note: **_Sorry this chapter was so short guys. And sorry the wait was so long. A lot of stuff has happened very recently, and I'm still adjusting to living with my grandmother again. _

_I went through a break up, then I got back together with the guy, and we're still dating. That's been taking up a good portion of my time, as well. I'll be working on the upcoming chapter probably tonight or tomorrow night, depending on what I'm doing or if I'm even in the mood._

_Starting next chapter, the real fun begins. Edward and Alphonse get to start searching for Hohenheim, secrets get revealed, someone will die, and ... well, I can't give the rest away. I've already said too much. Over the course of the rest of the story, believe me, you all will be very surprised. I can't wait to get it all typed out. _

_  
Thank you so much for sticking with me through this story, and please review. _


	8. Conflagration

**Author's Notes: **_Aww, wonderful. Chapter 8. This is such a proud day for me. I can't believe I've made it this far. I owe it all to my (Few) reviewers. You guys make writing this story worthwhile. TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT IT. I honestly do need more reviews. There getting down to very few. _

_Also, thank you to LeolaTaylor, who was quite right about my previous chapter- it really did suck. I guess that's what I get for doing a rush-job. I can at least promise that this chapter will meet my "normal standards."_

**Warnings: **_AU, Elricest, Language, Violence, Romance, Minor Fluff (Okay, maybe more than minor), Angst, Blood, Abuse, and Amnesia._

_And... ONWARD to Chapter 8! _

* * *

There were flames everywhere.

They were nipping at the edges of the blanket that hung halfway off of Alphonse's bed. They were eating the material, and slowly creeping their way up to where he had previously been sleeping. Nevertheless, he was now very much awake, and was staring in disbelief at the atrocious mess his room was becoming. If his room looked like this, he could hardly bare to imagine what the rest of the manor could possibly look like. That thought scared him to death.

Edward was asleep in his coffin.

The sun filtered very lightly through the boards on the window, just barely making it through. It felt unnatural to be awake during daylight, but the heat and smoke had forced him to awaken.

He had to get out. He needed to grab his suitcase, and see if Winry and Ed were already up. No, that couldn't be possible; even if the house was falling down around them, those two would still be dead asleep. Emphasis on 'dead.'

But if he didn't hurry, the house _would _be falling down around them.

He jumped out of bed, dodging the ever-growing flames. He had to put his shoes on so he could get out of the house as soon as possible. Though, there was a problem with that; his shoes were on fire. They were sitting in the corner, completely alight with heat and smoke. He could tell they had JUST been lit.

Alphonse threw off his shirt and smothered the flames out of his shoes. Without socks, he slid his feet into them. It burned like crazy, but he didn't care- he just needed to get out.

Grabbing his suitcase, he thrust open the door, and was greeted by more fire. All across the hall and even above him. Pieces of the ceiling were crumbling, and he knew that if he didn't use some sort of haste, the house would crumble into ashes. He ran down the stairs, two at a time, struggling with the weight of his suitcase.

When he reached the foyer (Which was also burning) he quickly unbolted the large double-oak door with the Gargoyle knockers, and threw his suitcase out onto the stone steps. He entered the third room on the first floor and looked around. There was an old pine coffin, which he was sure held Winry. He opened it in a rush, but she was unmoved.

She looked just as peaceful as Ed had; that scared him. They were so oblivious!

He left the room, and went into the living room, ripping black curtains off of the windows, flooding the house with sunlight that had never had the chance to enter. Every window was left without cover, and his arms were full of the black bundle. He flung those out onto the stone steps as well.

Then he went back into the female vampire's room, and grabbed a hold of one of the brass handles at the foot-end. The coffin lay on top of a wooden stand that was sturdy and was able to hold a lot of weight. Al tugged hard at the handle, and the coffin barely budged. Still, Winry lay dormant.

He tugged harder, and suddenly half of the coffin was off of the stand. The lid had shut again, making a large slam in the midst of the sizzle, pop and crackle of flames rushing all around them. He was very alarmed that no one had called the fire department yet.

Then again, the house wasn't very _near _any other houses. In fact, it was hidden back a little bit for privacy.

Finally, the coffin came completely off of the wooden base it had been on, and it hit the ground with a solid thud. Al began dragging it through the flames, and out of the room. It caught on the rug in the foyer, and he kicked the front door open the rest of the way so he could drag the coffin out onto the porch.

He covered it in the black curtains, doubling them up so no sunlight could penetrate their barrier. Not that the girl would be getting out of there anytime soon- she was out like a light.

Alphonse dashed back inside and stormed inside of Ed's room, which was about as lifeless as anything he'd ever seen before. Though it was very much alive with flames. He opened up the coffin with much speed, and began shaking the vampire.

"Edward! Edward! Ed!! Wake up, for God's sake! The house is on fire!" He cried, pounding his fists on the man's chest. But he did not move. He remained as still as ever. Al began crying furiously. He had no clue what to do with the coffins, where to go, where to hide. Being outside wasn't safe; hell, _nowhere _was safe.

But this was his chance to save both Ed and Winry. This was his chance to protect them like he had said he would.

With a rough cry, he slammed the coffin shut, and used every ounce of strength he had to push it off of it's own stand. It dove to the floor, creating a large hole in the floorboards. Half of the coffin was tipping down the hole, and the other half was leaning precariously on the edge. If he didn't move fast enough, it'd fall; lost under the house somewhere and no way for him to get it out.

Avoiding the flames creeping along the edges of the walls and eating away at the wood, he tip-toed around the gouge in the floor, and found the foot-end handle of Ed's coffin. With one large heave, he managed to swiftly and effectively remove the coffin from dissipating into the ground. He dragged it along the floor, ripping off floorboards and surely chipping off some nice, detailing on the bottom of the crypt.

Before long, that coffin, too, was out on the porch with Winry's, also covered in black curtains.

He rushed back into the house that was currently falling apart, and grabbed Ed's already-packed suitcase, throwing that outside too.

Within 5 minutes, he had already gone into Winry's room, grabbed all the clothes he could find in her dresser, and packed them into a tote-bag that he had managed to quickly dig out of her closet. There was a brush on top of her dresser, and he grabbed that too, just before a whole mound of ember and burning wood came crashing down on the vanity set.

He went through each room, grabbing every curtain that was left over, and even a black throw-blanket that had been on the couch. He needed to cover his friends as best he could to protect them from the sunlight.

He ran back outside, threw the extra curtains and the blanket on the porch, just as the sirens started to ring out through the air.

Finally, someone had called the fire department.

_Is that it? Is that all I need? Is that all __**they**__ need?_

Then, something occurred to him. He had never finished reading "Stolen Breath." It would break his heart if that wonderful book became lost to the flames.

He rapidly bounded up the stairs, and back into his burning room, which was almost completely engulfed in smoke and fire.

Half-blindly, he looked around on the floor where he had left the book. And then he spotted it. The flames were sneaking up on the book, charring its edges and almost setting it fully on fire. He jumped over a mound of blazing wood, and snatched it up, hugging it to his bare chest.

A discarded thought floated in- _where did my shirt go anyway? _He vaguely remembered using it to stomp his shoes out, but then he guessed he tossed it aside.

Without hesitance, he began running down the stairs. When he got half way down the staircase, the stairs behind him began to cave in and fall through the floor. Each step he ran down was the next to fall through; he was only a foot ahead of each one, until finally he reached ground level and zipped through the door, making it out to the porch.

The fire trucks were much closer now, probably just barely down the street.

He had no time to lose. It would look oddly suspicious if they came and found two coffins sitting atop the stoop.

There was a large patch of woods behind the manor. Al figured he could drag the coffins back there, and sneak back quickly to grab the rest of the things.

Just as he was grabbing the front handles to both caskets, the lid of Ed's began to rattle. The curtains slid off and fell to the stoop steps, and he burst out of the coffin. Before he could even utter one word, a sickly smell filled the air.

It was the smell of burning skin.

Edward's eyes became ghastly wide, and he let out the most terrible noise that had ever made acquaintance with Al's ears- a horrendous, miserable, _painful _shriek that pierced the day with definite finality. Except it wasn't final.

Before the sun could damage the vampire too horribly, Alphonse had grabbed the curtains and threw them over Ed, slamming the coffin shut once more.

"Stay in there! Don't open it up again! I'm moving you to safety! Winry, too!"

He hauled both caskets as quick as possible into the woods; maybe about 40 or 50 yards in so they wouldn't be visible. Before he came back out of the forest to get the other things, he knocked on Ed's coffin lightly; "Stay here, I'll be back in a moment. I promise. I wont leave you both."

Al ran through the trees, tripping over a root that had grown up out of the ground. He landed foreword, smearing his body with dirt and acquiring bruises on both elbows from the landing. But not even five seconds after his little indiscretion, he was already on his feet again, bounding through the woods, and back to the manor.

He could see fire fighters kicking open the door, going in search of maybe survivors, or people trapped. There were a few fire fighters out front with monstrous looking hoses, attempting to put out the irrepressible fire. No one noticed as he very urgently stepped up the front steps, grabbed the three suitcases in one hand altogether, and the curtains and throw blanket along with his book in the other hand.

He leapt from the porch with agility like no other, and flew back into the woods, never seen by anyone.

After throwing the suitcases, the book, and the curtains next to the caskets, he went back to the manor. But this time, he crouched behind a tree right near the entrance to the woods, and watched the firemen do their job.

Three police cars were there now, and quite a few officers were standing outside the stoop, looking up at the house. An investigator was already there with them, and he had a notepad.

Al strained his ears to listen, and he made out a part of the conversation. Consequentially, it was the part he _wanted _to hear.

"It looks like an arson." The investigator said professionally.

One officer nodded. "Were their any survivors? Anyone rescued out of there? Do we have any leads on who would do this, or why?"

The investigator shook his head. "No survivors. None that the firemen could find. Most of the house was crumbling and falling apart. Anyone who might have been in there must've had enough sense to leave. This is the old Rockbell house. Last I heard, that boy Edward and Winry Rockbell lived here. But maybe they left- no one has seen them for a while. But if anyone was in there while it was still burning, the flames were large and strong enough to where they would've eaten alive anyone who was caught by them. Even if someone did die, we wouldn't find anything left. Half the house is gone now. The entire first floor is completely dissipated, and most of the upper floors as well. The only reason I can see for this place going down in flames is either a) arson, or b) the fact that it was an old house, and someone got sick of it. So they set it on fire and left. It was too old to sell by now anyway- no one these days is interested in a house built in the 1800's. Unless you're a vampire." He chuckled at his own joke, and so did the two officers standing with him.

Al leaned against the tree, no longer interested in their conversation.

Why _had _the house gone up in flames? Could it be Ed's father doing this? Or just an accident?

He pondered it as he began to walk further into the woods to the place where he had set the caskets and other belongings.

* * *

When Alphonse made it back to the spot he had left, everything was exactly how he had left it.

He sighed in relief, and quietly knocked on the lid of Ed's coffin. "Hey, are you alright? Are you hurt? Are you even still awake or alive? Well, as alive as a vampire can be," he added softly.

Then he heard a reassuring noise; coughing. Then words; "Yes. I'm fine. Well, no. That's a lie, actually. I'm horribly burnt. Is it still light out?"

The mortal looked around. Yeah, it was still light out. But the sun was slowly fading beyond the line of the horizon, falling back and waiting for its call for the next day. "Mmhmm. But it's almost night. Dusk is barely here. Wait about 20 minutes, and we can get you out of there, and Winry, too."

"WINRY?! Is she okay? Did something happen to her, too?" Edward asked urgently.

"No, no. She's fine. Still asleep. The whole ordeal didn't even wake her."

They spoke through the casket for a moment, and then there was a soft silence.

Finally; "What happened?" It was Ed.

Al let out a soft sound, like a sigh of sadness. "I'll tell you when you get out of there. The sun just set; wait for a few more minutes while the last rays die down."

As he sat and leaned against the coffin, he thought to himself.

His two vampire friends could've seriously been hurt- or killed. He had saved them. He had actually saved them!

Never in his life had he been more proud of his heroism or his courage.

When at last the final rays of sun disappeared behind the line of mountains to the west, Alphonse knocked on Ed's coffin for the third time that evening. "Hey, you can come out now. The sun is gone. It's night."

Just as Ed's coffin opened, so did Winry's. She emerged yawning, eyes squinted shut, and arms stretching long and full. Then she looked around, looked up, and screamed shrilly.

"WHERE ARE WE?!" She yelled, grabbing the edges of her resting place.

"The woods." Al answered. He then looked at Edward, and his heart melted. The male vampire's skin was dreadful looking. His arms were nearly black, but small patches of skin stood through. They were blistered and almost melted looking. His face was this off-white color- not the normal color of his skin, but like a fresh blister. You could still see his good looks budding somewhere, and the blistering didn't make him ugly. Just _way _overly sun burnt, and white hot.

"Now, tell us what happened. Why are we out here? What happened to the house?" Edward asked, cringing in pain every time he moved his mouth. He looked achy.

Al settled himself against the coffin again and looked towards the sky. The first stars were just barely rearing their bright little heads. He could point out two that were clearly visible, but other than that, the night was young, and the stars wouldn't be fully out until maybe 2 or 3 in the morning. It was only 6 o'clock right now.

"The house was on fire." Was what he said after that. "I woke up, and my lungs were filled with smoke, and my room was entirely covered with flames. At first, I figured you guys would be up, but then rationality set it and I realized that it was daytime, and you both sleep like a rock."

Both Ed and Winry gave an embarrassed laugh.

"I knew I had to save you both, and grab our things." Al continued.

"But I had nothing packed! How did you manage to get my things in time?" The girl asked, astonished.

"I just threw all your clothes and your brush into a suitcase I found in the closet. I honestly don't know how I did it so fast, but I did, and that's all that matters. Well, first I threw my suitcase outside, then I dragged both of your coffins out to the porch, and then I grabbed both of your guys' belongings, and a bunch of black curtains. I did what I could in the time that I had." The mortal sighed heavily; he was exhausted. He didn't get to sleep all that long.

There was a moment of quiet consideration that the two vampires had, and they exchanged a look of seriousness.

Al was still leaning against the male vampire's casket, looking at the sky. He was deep in thought, so it surprised him quite a bit when Edward leaned toward him and put his arms around the boy's shoulders, burying his face in the back of his neck.

"You saved me, Al. And you saved Winry. We owe you our lives." He whispered, full of gratitude.

The boy beamed with happiness, and he was so very proud of himself. "I couldn't let anything happen to either of you." He looked down at one of the arms that came from around his shoulder and across his chest. Even in the dim darkness, he could tell Ed's skin was damaged.

"Would you like me to build a fire?" Alphonse asked softly, leaning his head back so he could peer into golden eyes. _Even though I've had about as much as I can take of fire for today._

"That would be nice, Al." Winry said, smiling at him.

Both vampires were still in their sleep-clothes, so they remained sitting up in their coffins, watching as Al gathered firewood and placed it in a pile in the middle of them. He set large stones around the pile and began looking for something to strike a spark with. "Ed? Did you bring anything that could help me start a fire?"

Winry reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a lighter- the one she always used for her cigarettes.

The male took it gratefully, and lit the wood right at the base of the pile. Slowly, black smoke began to rise into the air, and then finally, some leaves on the sticks he had brought caught alight, and began to burn into the wood itself.

Within ten, maybe twenty minutes there was a roaring fire going.

The crackle of the fire was comforting, and they all looked at it with fond eyes, even though fire had caused a lot of destruction that day. Al had seen the worst of the destruction, and it would forever be in his memory.

Suddenly, he felt chilled. He still had no shirt on, and had been too busy making sure his dear friends were safe. He pulled his suitcase close, dug through it, and found a pullover black sweatshirt. He put it on, and hugged his knees to his chest, watching the fire contentedly.

Before he even realized it, the other two had already changed clothing and were closing their coffins, pushing them aside.

It was going to be a long night with no food or water.

But for now, what they had seemed good enough.

* * *

"Where will Winry go?" Al asked at around midnight. The question had been bothering him for some time, and he needed an answer. Hell, he didn't even know where he and Ed were going, let alone what they would be doing. He had suspicions, but usually his suspicions were incorrect.

"Ah! Good question." The vampire smiled; it still looked like a grimace. "I've already arranged a place for her to stay while we go off and do what we have to do. She'll be staying in a small town about 4 miles from here. We have a few friends there, and they already are expecting her. You don't really think I was going to let her stay here alone do you? Even if the house hadn't burned down, she still would've needed a place to stay. Danger is most definitely rising, and I won't risk leaving her alone again."

The warm glow of the fire illuminated their skin and danced off of Winry and Edward's beautiful golden hair. It made Alphonse jealous; he wished he was as beautiful as they were. Well, Ed wasn't all _too _spectacular looking this evening; his skin wouldn't heal (He had said) for a good 2 days. If he was lucky, maybe only in a day. But it had been a horrid burn, and a deep one at that.

Winry leaned against her friend, her eyes mesmerized by the flames. "I should be going soon then. I want to be at Ellen's house before morning. And most certainly before you both set out. That way if you need anything, you'll know the number to where I'm at."

Al was puzzled. How would Winry get to a city four miles away? It baffled him- and as he was about to ask, Ed placed two fingers on either side of his own mouth and blew.

It produced a sharp whistle noise, but not like a normal whistle. It was a note, a harmony, and it was sweet and soothing. It lasted only a moment, then the sound faded, and was quickly replaced by the beat of hooves. The sound pounded against the ground of the forest, and it was drawing closer and closer, and Al looked around with apprehension. But the other two seemed completely unfazed, like they expected it. Or rather, like they knew what it was and were unafraid.

Within seconds, 3 beautiful horses appeared, each trotting slowly over to them. They carefully strutted over roots and sticks and rocks and crowded along the opposite side of the fire, directly in front of them.

Ed grinned. "Great to see you three again." He bowed his head with respect, as did Winry. "I trust the journey was satisfactory?"

One horse nodded it's head, and pawed at the ground with a large, sturdy hoof.

"Al, this is Remara, Ramtha, and Russell. They're our horses; we take them when we don't need or want to travel by foot. Russell is our newest addition. Edward pulled some strings when he knew he'd be bringing a human along. That means he's yours." Winry motioned to a Palomino colored stallion.

Russell bowed his neck very low, showing his own form of respect for his new owner.

Alphonse slowly got to his feet and made his way over to his new horse. He reached for Russell's head, and gently pulled it up, so that the horse could extend his neck. He was much taller than Al, and when they looked each other in the eyes, Russell nuzzled his nose against the boy's cheek.

Being Palomino colored meant that he had a very solid dark gold coat and a beautiful blonde-white tail and mane. He reminded Al of Edward, and almost considered renaming him mentally, but thought better of it. Sometimes Ed could still pick up some of Al's thoughts, and that could be potentially dangerous. Or at least embarrassing.

"Remara is my horse," Winry interrupted his thoughts, standing next to him, scratching behind her own horse's ears. Remara was an Appaloosa, with a leopard spotted coat on her back. Her base color was a husky brown, and very silky looking in the light from the fire.

"And. . . " Ed began, also getting to his feet and standing near Ramtha, burying his face against his horse's neck. "Ramtha is my one and only fantastic stallion." Yes, it was true. Ed's horse was a stallion as well. The only difference was that his horse was a pure black stallion. The contrast between Edward's flaxen features and the horse's dark coat, mane, tail, eyes and demeanor was obtrusive and highly visible. But it made the beauty of both creatures stand out far more.

Each of their horse's had saddles already holstered on their backs. There were slings on either side of them, most likely to hold the suitcases.

Winry grabbed her bag and adjusted it into one of the slings, stroking Ramera's head thoughtfully. "I should be going," she remarked, gazing at the two boys. She knew it would be quite some time before she would see them again, and it was hard for her. Every time she was away from Ed she got terribly lonely. And now she had grown a sort of fondness for Alphonse as well, and it would hurt to leave him, too. Especially knowing that something might happen to either of them- that thought scared her the most. She sighed and hoisted herself upon the horses back, settling into the saddle's cradle.

She looked very elegant up there, smiling down at them with a detached look of sorrow that didn't suit her pretty features very well. "Phone me if you get the chance, or if you find somewhere safe to stay. It'll be a long journey, but I trust you both will be fine. I have faith in you."

Ed walked next to her, and looked up with sad eyes. "We'll be fine. You be careful. They know you've been helping me; just keep yourself aware and watch out for daylight."

The blonde girl nodded and leaned down to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Take care; Edward, Alphonse." And with that she yanked the reins of the bridle, and Remara twisted to the side and began galloping deeper into the woods until finally the receding hoof beats were no longer in their range of hearing.

The elder male stared after her for quite some time, just looking into the vacant spot into the forest where she had ridden off. He had an unsettling feeling about all this, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly was wrong with it. He shook his head, and looked over at Al, who was preoccupied with Russell.

"Are they immortal too?" Alphonse asked, cocking his head to the side.

Ed nodded. "They're horses from the other side. The other realm, I should say. Horses with powers. They don't need food, nor sleep, nor water. But they require a lot of love, and a lot of attention. I trust you can give them that," he smiled.

"Of course," Al replied. The word love made his insides quiver. It made him think about the night before, and everything that had happened. He couldn't stop referring back to it. He wanted it to happen again, but neither of them had made any moves, besides Ed simply putting his arms around the younger man.

A loud clanking noise rang out through the woods, and it startled Al greatly. He looked over to where his companion was, and realized that Edward had simply set his suitcase in the holster of the saddle. "We should be leaving soon, too. We have quite the journey."

The boy packed his suitcase into the sling on his own horse, as well, and thought for a moment. He considered asking Ed where they were going, much like he had wanted to before. He bit his lip and tried to think of a certain way to ask without sounding too desperate to know the answer. He wanted to know where their destination was, and what they planned on doing there, but it seemed too nosy. And he needed to trust Ed, right? He needed to just follow his lead.

But his curiosity was far too great, and he ended up blurting out the question anyway. "Where are we going, exactly?"

The vampire chuckled lightly, tightening the bridle around Ramtha's jaw. "Better question is; Where _aren't _we going? We're looking for my dad, remember? We have to find him before he finds us. And it looks like he did a pretty good job of it today. We're real lucky none of us were hurt. But that's precisely why we need to get on the move. Our first destination is a city up north a little ways. We should get there before dawn, but then tomorrow night, we'll need to keep traveling north until we reach Yelm; that's the city that my dad was at, last time that I was with him. I figure it'd be best to check there, and see if anyone knows anything." Shortly after that was said, Ed was already positioned on the horse's back, sitting comfortably on the saddle.

Al jumped up quickly, trying to throw one leg over Russell's saddle, but ended up missing and falling on the ground roughly. He got up and tried again, this time hoisting himself up carefully, using the foot holes for support that was deeply appreciated and needed. He managed to make it up that time, and he realized that it would take some time to get his ass to be used to the rock-solid feel of a leather cradle beneath him.

Ramtha stomped out the fire within seconds, and Ed turned the horse around to face Al. "Follow me, alright?" As he was about to turn back into the woods, Al called for him.

"Wait! What about the coffins? And the curtains? Are we just leaving that stuff here?"

"Why not? We don't need it anymore. Not where we're going, trust me." Edward winked at him, and then kicked his heels into the horse's sides to get him to move. Ramtha immediately moved into a trot and began his way into the forest, deeper and deeper.

Alphonse sat for a moment, then looked down at Russell. He shifted uncomfortably, then cleared his throat. "Uhh. Go? Go, Go! Hmm. . . uh, NOW! Go. . . now!" He grabbed the reins and yanked on them harshly. "NOW!"

That was when he almost lost his balance and fell backwards off of the animal. But, lucky for him, he had a tight enough grip on the reins, and controlled his equilibrium very nicely. He caught up to his friend in a moment, and before long they were riding all the way out of the woods at the opposite end of them, and ended up back out in the country.

They were going north, and all Al could do was follow.

* * *

End Chapter 8.

**Closing Notes: **_I believe this might be a record for me. I've been very pumped about this story, and I just keep writing and writing and writing, and so this update was unusually fast. Maybe that will get some people to review it. That would make me very pleased._

_There was a question that I really wanted Al to ask Ed in this chapter, but I didn't get the chance. I think it ended just where it was supposed to. But anyway, the question is supposed to be about the "Door" that had been on the fourth floor. I really wanted to write a part that showed Al what was in it; I might be able to pull that off anyway, even though the house burnt down (Just because I'm ninja like that) but even if that doesn't happen, you guy's will eventually get to know what's in there. (Or rather, what WAS in there.)  
_


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